Becoming a stranger to one’s child is one of the most painful things that
can happen to a parent – Tina Gilbertson
The attempt to erase the TP from the mind of the child came in the form of withdrawal
of love and affection for the child who talk warmheartedly about the TP (Brian ,2020;
Harman et al., 2018). This gesture is likely to result in the child fully and totally rejecting
the TP on one hand or the development of children who compartmentalize their
emotions by portraying the true and false self-based on whether they are interacting
with the AP or the TP (Garber, 2014). This would seem to imply a survival gimmick for
the child who finds it hard to reject one parent and yet does not want to lose the love of
the custodian parent. Going by the findings by Garber (2014), it is clear that the AP
makes their endorsement of utmost importance to the child so much that the child
would do everything possible in order to avoid the loss of love that is experienced in
the event the child disappointed or infuriated that parent. Thus, in order to secure the
love of one parent the child must surrender the love of the other (Harman & Biringen,
2018). In light of the findings by, Harman and Biringen, (2018), the parentally alienated
child is likely to live in constant fear of losing the AP’s love and endorsement. In other
instances, the AP makes children discard all clothing, gifts, or any reminders of the TP
after returning from visiting them (Harman & Biringen, 2018). Thus, the children
receive conditional love where those who fail to surrender the gifts risk being rejected
by the AP.