In this episode, Wendy is joined by Cathy Himlin, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional clinical counsellor, and author of The Rejected Parent: Rebuild Your Relationship with Your Child During and After a Divorce or Custody Dispute, who has spent 30 years working with children and families in high conflict family law cases.

If you are a parent who has lost contact with your child, or who feels that contact is slipping away, this episode speaks directly to that pain. Cathy describes the grief of having a living child who won't see you as one of the most complicated and underrecognised forms of loss there is, because unlike bereavement, there is no clear end, only the persistent question of how to get back to your child.

The conversation covers what parental alienation actually means and why it is far more nuanced than the term suggests, including the parents who contribute to it without ever intending to. Cathy explains why children take sides, how even very young children absorb the tension between parents in ways that cause real physiological stress, and why the instinct to push harder, explain more, or argue the facts with a child almost always makes things worse.

There is also a deeply practical thread throughout. Cathy shares what early warning signs to watch for before rejection becomes entrenched, how to use the EFFT model to validate a child's emotions and start repairing the attachment rupture, and what to do when the door is fully closed, including why keeping duplicates of every letter, card and gift you send could matter more than you think.

For parents who haven't seen their child in months or years, the episode also addresses what reconciliation can realistically look like, why the late teens and early twenties are often a turning point, and how to hold hope without losing yourself in the process.

Cathy's book The Rejected Parent is available here:

👉 https://www.amazon.com/Rejected-Parent-Rebuild-Relationship-Divorce/dp/164848719X/

To get in touch with Cathy, access her parenting support programmes or find out about her work with attorneys and therapists, visit:

👉 https://www.himlinconsulting.com/about

To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit:

👉 https://wendycastelino.com/

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