Even highly experienced therapists, with long track records of effective work with families and children, are flummoxed by couples whose disputes and hostility extend beyond their divorce. They describe this persistent animosity as “one of the most complicated areas of their practice.” Frustrated and apparently powerless, therapists themselves feel caught in the bitter ‘middle’ and withdraw their efforts not only because they do not see any benefit from their work, but also because children, in the course of this therapeutic work, show increased symptoms of distress. This is probably because, through therapy, children become more aware of their very difficult, divided emotions and their own helplessness. Seeking their parents’ help with their own needs, these children realize, would only serve as fuel in the war between their parents. Parental conflict can seem essential to parental protection Post-divorce conflict has increased and intensified over the past two decades. Some therapists believe this results from the well-meaning and largely positive practice of assigning legal parental authority to both parents. When one or both see the other as …