Clinical Psychologist Dr. Lourdes Rigual-Lynch Discusses the Impact of the Custody Battle on Elian Gonzalez
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You don't have to be a psychologist to know that Elian Gonzalez and his family are under tremendous stress. But a clinical psychologist who has met with both sides of the family has become more concerned with the recent turn in events. Dr. Lourdes Rigual-Lynch joins us now from New York. Dr. Lynch, good morning.</s>DR. LOURDES RIGUAL-LYNCH, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning.</s>PHILLIPS: Let's begin with why you are more concerned.</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: I'm more concerned now because it appears to me that Elian's emotional state is deteriorating, and that's because the environment around him has become increasingly tense and conflicted. And, you know, the tension has to be communicated to the little boy. And in this whole process, the child is getting lost in the process, unfortunately.</s>O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the videotape. You've seen the videotape. His mannerisms, it seems so constructed. He's very passionate, he seems very angry, and what he says on the tape, "Dad, I do not want to go to Cuba, if you want, stay here, but I'm not going to Cuba." Now, he talks about not going to Cuba but never once does he mention, I don't want to be with my dad.</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: That's correct, and I think that's something that needs to be underlined, you know, as an important point in terms of the video, that nowhere in the video does he say he does not want to return to his father. But the fact is that, you know, he says that he doesn't want to return to Cuba. And I found that video very upsetting, and it's just another point that states that, you know, this child is really being subjected to all kinds of things that are not good for him. That was very unhealthy for him.</s>PHILLIPS: You've met with both sides. Did the Miami relatives coach him and tell him to do this? Were they in the room telling him what to say and what to do?</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: I really don't know. I can't -- you know, I can't project anything on that. All I know is that in that video, Elian presented as very different from what we had seen of him before. You know, before, he was always active, playful. And in the video, it was like a different child, you know, he was very angry with the finger wagging, and, you know, it seemed like a completely different child.</s>PHILLIPS: Unnatural performance.</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: Yes.</s>PHILLIPS: In regard to Elian losing his mother, doesn't a child usually automatically want to be with his or her father if they lose their mother?</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: Well, I believe, you know, when the child loses his mother, which is really one of the most traumatic events that can occur in a child's life, especially at that age, it is natural that he should be with the surviving parent, someone who he has bonded with all of his life. And as a matter of fact, Elian, you know, used to spend most of the time with his father in Cuba. He was living with the father during the week. So he was very close to him, and he was also very close to his current stepmother, the father's current wife, and they're both loving and affectionate people, and this child really needs to be in a more stable environment. The environment he's in right now is very unstable, and it doesn't lead to any kind of healing. And I'm very concerned about that.</s>PHILLIPS: So you think the father's motives are very sincere, and there's definitely a healthy relationship there?</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: That's definitely the impression that I had upon meeting with the father and his current wife, yes.</s>PHILLIPS: What is going to happen to Elian, do you think, when all this affection, all these gifts, all this attention goes away?</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: I think all these gifts and all of that attention actually are very distracting to him. I don't think that they're really that important. I think the most important thing is that he has the love of his family, and that he's able to be in an environment that is stable, that is peaceful, where he can begin to heal the traumatic loss of his mother's death.</s>PHILLIPS: Dr. Lourdes Rigual-Lynch, thanks for joining us this morning. Definitely some new perspective that we needed.</s>RIGUAL-LYNCH: Thank you.</s>PHILLIPS: Thank you. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web