Children of Divorce, Young and Adult
My work over the decades has educated me on the trials and challenges of children of divorced parents and the best methods to both empower children to share their emotions and guide parents in critical decisions. The developmental phase of the child as well as each child’s personality provides the basis in helping that child through this passage. As both an individual therapist for adolescents and adults and as a couples therapist, I have found that fraught and friction-heavy outcomes of uncoupling hover over all familial celebrations and passages for decades to come. Decisions regarding where to spend holidays and how to share joyous celebrations such as graduations, baptisms and brises, become fraught with anxiety and torn loyalties. This saddens me as I see it as an unfair burden on children that colors many of life’s greatest moments anis a lingering cloud over the heads of adults for years to come. My goal is prevention here. For that reason, I worked with one young teenager in crafting The Divorce Toolkit for Children as an easily accessible guide and I focus a considerable amount of time in the uncoupling process toward that end.