What happened in the case of the Swedish Psychological Association, SPA vs LHS, Lena Hellblom Sjögren, accused of supporting the “pedophile theory called PAS”?

A  new book by Lena Hellblom Sjögren, LHS, was published  in 2012: The child´s right to family life. 25 Swedish case studies of parental alienation.

This book was withdrawn in spring 2013. The smearing of LHS and her work had then intensified.

No one in Sweden officially criticized the fact that a well-known big publishing house (Studentlitteratur) withdrew a book they had published, by  referring to “controversies” ,  above all to the (unjustified) decision without any motivation to exclude LHS from the Swedish Psychological Association 7 months after she had exited the union at her own request.

LHS exited her union, the Swedish Psychological Association,  SPA, in November 2011 . The background for that had to do with SPA´s resistance to learn anything about parental alienation and to investigate properly by reading LHS two investigations that had been reported to the ethical board.

In June 2012 LHS  received a letter by post with a decision  from the board of SPA telling that they had decided to regard LHS as a member, and that they had decided to exclude her. There was no motivation or explanation for these decisions.

In  the shift of January/February 2013 someone told LHS  that on SAPs website there was a defaming text on 5 pages about LHS and her work. This text was called a statement from the ethical board , sanctioned by the board of SAP. It was a text that never had been presented to LHS.

This text of defamation that was not substantiated was quoted in every court session LHS was called to since, used to argue for not paying any attention to her  investigation in that case, or to her expertise witness on parental alienation.

LHS sued SPA. There was a preparatory meeting in the district court of Stockholm in June 2014. It was decided that there should be a court session in December.

The judge also demanded  the SPA lawyer to write down the explanation for their exclusion decision. He after some time instead suggested to settle. In a court decision based on the settlement  made between LHS´s lawyer and the SPA´s  lawyer it says that SPA´s  decision is without effect  because it was not motivated.

A detail LHS wants to give you is what PAS was called by an Appeal court in Sweden recently when LHS had sent them the bibliography made by professor William Bernet on literature about parental alienation. It was called the PARENTAL ABDUCTION SYNDROME  in their listing of documents . It might be something to consider in the most severe cases as a descriptive label ?

If you have any questions or comments you are welcome to contact

Lena Hellblom Sjögren PhD, licensed psychologist,Testimonia KB, mail@testimonia.se

Mobile: +46 709 88 88 68

Some more details on the matter (written in spring 2013):

I had been criticized regarding two cases  I had investigated where the children without justification had been taken into control by one parent and also had been influenced to reject the parent they were only allowed to meet occasionally,
My resignation as a member of the Swedish Psychological Association, due to their total lack of interest to learn anything about parental alienation, dated the 11th of November 2011 was accepted in a letter dated the 17th of November 2011. I decided that I did not any longer want to me a member after having tried but been refused to have the statements I had done read by the members of the Ethical board in the Swedish Psychological Association.

After half a year, in the beginning of June 2012 I received a formal letter from the Swedish Psychological Association informing me shortly that
The board of the Swedish Psychological Association had the 31st of May 2012 decided that I was to be considered a member of the Swedish Psychological Association, and that
The board had decided to exclude me as a member.

There was no information why.

After yet an another half year, on the 30th of January in 2013 a person in a parent´s organization called and asked if I had seen that the Swedish Psychological Association on its website had what this person called slander of me and my work. I didn´t know anything about that, I looked up the link I had been given and read what was called a statement from the Ethical board of the Swedish Psychological Association. It was 5 pages of unsubstantiated denigration and false information, with no mentioning of parental alienation, ending with a recommendation to exclude me as a member of the Swedish Psychological Association.

This document, that never had been sent to me, has been cited in courtt and also in verdicts in both criminal and civil cases where I have done investigations. Those who have cited this web site published statement from the Swedish Psychological Association have argued that my work is worthless, that I am unethical, and my investigations ought not to be considered at all.
A judge, a layman judge in a lower court in Stockholm, published a statement on a blog, just after I had witnessed on the 30th of May 2013. This was a case investigated by me in 2008 after which two courts had given sole custody to the father to help the 4 children to keep contact with both parents, but the mother has since then kept the children. The layman judge, a witness for the mother, called the theory of parental alienation a pedophile theory and asked how the publishing house, Studentlitteratur, that in 2012 published my latest book “The child´s right to family life. 25 Swedish case studies of parental alienation” could have published such a book in defense for pedophile fathers by an author who gets well payed by pedophile fathers to help them.

I forwarded this text to the editor responsible for psychology, whom I have had a good cooperation with when producing my book, thinking that Studentlitteratur would take action against the slander against them. Instead I got an email explaining that the publishing house had, because of the controversies and that they didn´t want to take side, decided to withdraw my book.
I asked to have a formal decision and the arguments behind such a shocking decision. The one with legal responsibility in the publishing house wrote me an email saying that they had been concerned when taking part of the statement regarding ethical issues from the Swedish Psychological Association and therefore had made their decision to withdraw my book.
9-12 July 2013 the Swedish Psychological Association will host an international conference, the 13th European Congress of Psychology.
There will be no mentioning of children being damaged, often for life, when separated from a parent and influenced to reject that parent without any substantiated cause.
After I had managed in 2008 , after years of efforts, to have an article published of the damaging effects of separating a child from a loved and loving parent and influencing the child to think that it is the child´s own will to reject that parent, in the magazine for the Swedish Psychological Association, the only reaction was from a child psychiatrist. He wrote,: don´t believe a word of what Lena Hellblom Sjögren says.
I feel confident that sometimes in the future this kind of psychological abuse of children will be accepted also in Sweden.