Post-Separation Conflict

For most separating families, much of the conflict and relationship difficulty settles within the first two years. However for some families, conflict and family difficulties continue to be challenging beyond the two-year mark.

How I Help

I work with individuals and families to address chronic conflict, improve co-parenting communication, focus on children’s needs and buffer the children from the ongoing conflict. This may be individual work one-on-one; meeting with the children; working in a therapeutic team with the former spouses; or working within a three-way team that includes an independent child therapist.

I work with my clients to create the team that matches the level of difficulty and complexity of the situation in order to provide the level of support and containment necessary to shift the family dynamics in a more constructive direction.

More on three-way therapeutic teams

Therapeutic Services

Separation and Divorce

Therapeutic Approaches

Over the years my therapeutic style has been influenced by many approaches. Here are some of the areas that have been most important:

  • Individual Life Span Development
  • Child Development
  • Family Development
  • Stepfamily Development
  • Family Systems
  • Family Therapies
  • Attachment theory
  • Play Therapy
  • Parent Education
  • Couple Communication
  • Domestic Violence Intervention
  • Conflict Resolution Approaches
  • Psychopathology
  • Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches
  • Solution-Oriented Therapies
  • Positive Psychology
  • Appreciative Inquiry
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Neurophysiology
  • Interpersonal Neurobiology
  • Trauma
  • Mind-Body Connections
  • EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique
  • Somatic techniques
  • Spiritual Counselling
  • Life Review
  • Resilience

Separation and Divorce Issues Addressed

I work with a variety of people and problems including:

  • emotional shock at receiving unexpected news
  • feeling lost and confused about which professional services are appropriate
  • planning the transition to two households
  • how to talk with your children about the separation/divorce
  • responding to the emotional needs of the children
  • working out parenting time
  • creating parenting plans
  • supporting the best possible co-parenting relationship
  • shifting repetitive communication dynamics
  • self-calming and self care through the process
  • the introduction of new partners