Professor Ben Hine
Psychologist, Academic
and Author
Professor Ben Hine is a psychologist, academic, and author whose work focuses on Parental Alienation (PA), family breakdown, and the gendered experiences of men and boys. He is a leading voice on the psychological impact of post-separation abuse, particularly PA - where one parent seeks to damage or sever the child’s relationship with the other parent - drawing on both personal experience and professional research. Ben leads the Evidence-Based Domestic Abuse Research Network (EBDARN), bringing together researchers from across the UK to better understand the complex dynamics of abuse, alienation, and resistance in family systems.
Ben is also a trustee of The Mankind Initiative, supporting male victims of domestic abuse, and is Chair of the Male Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. As a co-founder of the Men and Boys Coalition, he works alongside a network of professionals, academics, and charities to raise awareness of critical issues such as male suicide, the educational underachievement of boys, and the erosion of father involvement post-separation.
In addition to his extensive academic publications, Ben is the author of two books:
Parental Alienation: A Contemporary Guide for Parents, Practitioners and Policymakers (2023, Amazon)
Boys, Men and Mental Health: A Psychological Perspective (2025, Routledge)
These works reflect his commitment to bridging research, lived experience, and frontline advocacy.
He is also a board member of the Parental Alienation Study Group, and a member of the International Men and Families Alliance and the International Change for Children advocacy group. His recent UK-wide study - funded by the Woodward Charitable Trust - shed light on the alarming levels of suicidal ideation in separated fathers, highlighting the urgent need for systemic change in how family courts and services respond to men.
Day 1 - Professor Ben Hine | Short Framing Session
When Child Contact Breaks Down: Understanding the Psychology Beneath the Behaviour
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, judges, CAFCASS professionals, psychologists, social workers and professionals involved in assessment and decision making where child contact has broken down or is at risk
What this session is about
When a child resists or refuses contact, professional responses can too quickly focus on surface behaviour or stated preference. Ben introduces the psychological dynamics that sit beneath resistance, refusal and alignment, emphasising assessment, context and proportionate response.
He challenges behaviour only interpretations and explores how loyalty conflict, fear, identity threat, influence and power dynamics can shape a child’s presentation. He also highlights both the importance and limits of the voice of the child, cautioning against treating expressed wishes as determinative without understanding the wider relational and psychological context.
Key themes
Contact breakdown as complex and multi causal
Resistance, refusal and alignment as adaptive responses in some contexts
Loyalty conflict, fear, influence and identity threat
Risks of over weighting expressed wishes without full context
Ethical interpretation of the child’s voice within the wider system
What delegates will gain
A clearer psychological lens for understanding contact breakdown
Greater confidence distinguishing types of resistance, refusal and alignment
A framework for engaging with child narrative ethically and proportionately
A safer foundation for next steps across professional systems
How it connects to other sessions
This builds on the neuroscience foundation from Bill Eddy and Megan Hunter by adding psychological depth. It prepares delegates for Day Two’s work on participation and interpretation and provides grounding for Penny Ruth Willis’s adult led, systemic NVR response.
Day 2 - Professor Ben Hine | Breakout
Parental Alienation: Understanding the Dynamic, Avoiding Harm
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, CAFCASS professionals, psychologists, social workers and practitioners working with aligned or rejected parent-child relationships
What this session is about
This session deepens the psychological analysis introduced on Day One, focusing on parental alienation as a dynamic rather than a diagnosis. Ben examines how misinterpretation, adversarial responses and premature conclusions can escalate harm when children’s expressed wishes are treated as determinative without adequate assessment.
He explores the ethical risks of granting children decision-making power in contexts where they would not ordinarily have autonomy and challenges binary thinking that entrenches conflict.
Key themes
Alienation as a dynamic, not a label
Risks of uncontextualised child choice
Influence, fear and power within family systems
Harm caused by punitive or simplistic responses
Professional responsibility in shaping outcomes
What delegates will gain
Confidence navigating alienation narratives and pressure
Tools for ethical, psychologically informed assessment
Insight into how professional responses escalate or reduce harm
A child-safety-focused approach grounded in development
How it connects to other sessions
Links directly to Professor Anne Barlow and Dr Jan Ewing’s work on participation and Penny Ruth Willis’s NVR session, reinforcing interpretation over assumption and adult responsibility over child burden.