The Impact of Divorce
You may know someone who has confided in you how it was when his or her parents argued and fought with one another.  They may have even been YOUR parents.  Once the marriage ends, the adults often experience a sense of relief.  Anger and conflict may be unresolved in one or both of the partners.  This inevitably results in added difficulty for the child who is already trying to cope with the many changes in his or her life.

Children are ill-equipped to manage the stress of separation and divorce.  When separation and divorce are conflicted, children can be bombarded with a whole set of unworkable problems.  Research shows that children whose parents are engaged in high conflict divorce are likely to experience: depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, academic problems, and medical problems.

Hope
Education, development of conflict resolution skills, and the willingness to trust that things can be better are key factors in helping parents resolve their differences so that they can protect their children from the devastating effects of high conflict divorce.

What Is Parent Coordination?
Parent Coordination is designed to help parents who are engaged in high conflict become free of the conflict and pain that has characterized their interaction.  When parents learn to reduce the conflict within their relationship, they also reduce the harmful effects of high conflict upon their child or children.

Parent Coordination includes group meetings with one or more skilled Parenting Coordinators and several other sets of co-parents in a classroom setting.  Sessions include lectures, discussions, videos, personal exercises and role-plays with other participants (not your co-parent) to help each parent learn the elements of cooperative co-parenting.

Periodically, your individual Parenting Coordinator will meet with you and your co-parent after the group session to work on developing your individual co-parenting plan and review your individual co-parenting situation.

The Coordinators will create an environment where you will be able to attend sessions at the same time as your co-parent and each of you will be able to maintain your dignity and composure.  In the group setting, the atmosphere can be lighter - perhaps even fun at times.  Learning is structured and designed to be focused and productive.  This controlled interaction will help teach new proficiencies and can relieve some of the stressors of poor or conflicted communication.

The goal is to ease the burden of parental conflict, and benefit your child.

Facilitators Will Coach You To:

• Learn to recognize and respond constructively to your child's experience of your divorce.
• Learn how to become a positive example to your child by practicing and applying negotiation, communication, and problem solving skills with your co-parent.
• In individual sessions, your Parenting Coordinator will help you and your co-parent develop, modify and implement a realistic co-parenting agreement that will benefit your child and each other. Win-Win!

All The Costs
When people think of cost, they usually think of dollars.  Many people neglect to consider the "other" costs.  These are costs of: "Doing more of the same."  Attorney fees, court costs, and the cost of continuing to live a life embroiled in conflict.

Having your life controlled by the legal system.  The opportunities and choices missed because of the focus on surviving an intensely negative, unhappy experience that can be all consuming.  These costs create untold stressors for your child/ren.

These costs are often greater than any financial costs you may incur.

You are encouraged to act today to enroll in an intervention that may well help your child/ren, you and your co-parent to live better, more peaceful, stable lives.