Learn to Divorce Consciously with Collaborative Divorce
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin may have popularized the term "conscious uncoupling" when they separated in 2014, but did you know that Katherine Woodward Thomas, a psychotherapist, coined the term?
For those interested The Telegraph provides an excellent profile about what the term means to her.
I particularly enjoyed the honesty she expressed when normalizing the difficulty of any marital separation:
"Like sailing a boat – you set a target and you’re a little to the left, a little to the right, you’re always bringing it back. I don’t know anyone who’s done it perfectly."
If you are considering divorce you may want to familiarize yourself with the process of Collaborative Divorce.
Patrick M. DeCarlo is a certified collaborative divorce neutral facilitator.
Collaborative divorce is a relatively new practice that sees a neutral facilitator, usually a licensed mental health practitioner, facilitating conversations between two sets of lawyers, their clients, and a financial adviser on how to divide assets and craft a time share agreement when children are involved.
Having a mental health practitioner present can absorb some of the anxiety of such a tumultuous time and can more easily create pathways for supportive conversations that can be modeled by both parties in their future lives.
Let's face it, going through the courts and having a judge determine the fate of your family, your finances, and how you'll interact with your kids can not only be expensive but traumatizing. Going through mediation might leave certain details out that a mental health practitioner can point out, such as the intricacies of how evidence-based parenting plans work.
I've had the honor of working on Collaborative Divorce cases as a neutral facilitator through a joint partnership between Nova Southeastern University's Brief Therapy Institute and Mission United, working with United States military families who were divorcing.
I've also utilized the therapy room for couples who are deciding to separate and need help processing those feelings or need guidance on how to break the news to their kids and family members.
If you're considering Collaborative Divorce local to South Florida, I'd point you in the direction of Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida.
To read more about Collaborative Divorce I like to direct clients to these two books: