Family breakdown and parental alienation expert becomes new chairperson

The Jersey Centre for Separated Families held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday the 30th of September 2014 and they are delighted to announce that Karen Woodall is the new chairperson.

Denise Carroll, co-ordinator said:

“This is exciting as we have been working together for the last two years to offer parents access to the very best support and advice, by ensuring all our volunteers, including those who operate Milli’s Child Contact Centre, have undertaken specialist training in family breakdown and how to work and support families. This means that families in Jersey have access to a truly independent professional family breakdown support services which can only be good for the children and the community."

"Our service is an independent community based organisation that works with everyone affected by family separation in order to bring about better outcomes for children. Our services are available to parents who are caring for their children alone, those who are sharing care and those who are not able to spend time with their children. Parents, carers, grandparents or anyone else with concerns about family separation are welcome.“

Welcoming her appointment Karen Woodall said:

“I am delighted to be taking on the role of Chair of the Jersey Centre, we have been hugely impressed by the work of everyone at Milli's and the Jersey Centre for Separated Families and I know that together we can develop innovative services for everyone affected by separation on Jersey.”

Karen and Nick Woodall will run regular surgeries and training on Jersey and the Jersey Centre for Separated Families offers access to all of the specialised services available at the Family Separation Clinic in London which is the first dedicated clinic of its kind in the UK.

Karen Woodall is the author of several publications on children and families and has written for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on separated parents and isolation and for Oxfam on Gender Analysis. She is a therapist; parenting co-ordinator; writer on family separation issues; gender specialist and has a special interest in developing services for families that meet the needs of everyone as they go through change.

She is the lead therapist of parental alienation at the Family Separation Clinic in London and specialises in working with high conflict separated families and children who are resistant to relationships with a parent after family separation, author and researcher on parental alienation and the impact on children of high conflict divorce and develops treatment routes for families affected by parental alienation.