High-Conflict Parenting Post-Separation: The Making and Breaking of Family Ties describes an innovative approach for families where children are caught up in their parents’ acrimonious relationship - before, during and after formal legal proceedings have been initiated and concluded. This first book in a brand-new series by researchers and clinicians at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFNCCF) outlines a model of therapeutic work which involves children, their parents and the wider family and social network. The aim is to protect children from conflict between their parents and thus enable them to have healthy relationships across both ‘sides’ of their family network. High-Conflict Parenting Post-Separation is written for professionals who work with high-conflict families – be that psychologists, psychiatrists, child and adult psychotherapists, family therapists, social workers, children’s guardians and legal professionals including solicitors and mediators, as well as students and trainees in all these different disciplines. The book should also be of considerable interest for parents who struggle with post-separation issues that involve their children.

High-Conflict Parenting Post-Separation: The Making and Breaking of Family Ties describes an innovative approach for families where children are caught up in their parents' acrimonious relationship - before, during and after formal legal proceedings have been initiated and concluded. This first book in a brand new series by researchers and clinicians at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFNCCF) outlines a model of therapeutic work which involves children, their parents and the wider family and social network. The aim is to protect children from conflict between their parents and thus enable them to have healthy relationships across both 'sides' of their family network. High-Conflict Parenting Post-Separation is written for professionals who work with high-conflict families - be that psychologists, psychiatrists, child and adult psychotherapists, family therapists, social workers, children's guardians and legal professionals including solicitors and mediators, as well as students and trainees in all these different disciplines. The book should also be of considerable interest for parents who struggle with post-separation issues that involve their children.

"Your divorce doesn't have to damage your children..., " Stahl assures, " ... especially if you limit your children's exposure to your conflicts." He knows parents are not perfect, and he uses that knowledge to show imperfect parents how to settle their differences in the best interests of the children. This revised and updated second edition features ideas from the latest research, more information on long-distance parenting, dealing with the courts, and working with a difficult co-parent. A realistic perspective on divorce and its effects on children, Parenting After Divorce features knowledgeable advice from an expert custody evaluator. Packed with real-world examples, this book avoids idealistic assumptions, and offers practical help for divorcing parents, custody evaluators, family court counselors, marriage and family therapists and others interested in the best interests of the children.

When a marriage ends, the most important thing divorcing parents can do is to help their children through this difficult transition and remain united as parents even if they are no longer united as a couple. In Parenting Apart divorce coach Christina McGhee offers practical advice on how to help children adjust and thrive during and after separation and divorce. She looks at all the different issues parents may face with their children of different ages, offering immediate solutions to the most critical parenting problems divorce brings, including: ·When to tell your children about the divorce and what to say ·How to create a loving, secure home if your child doesn't live with you full time ·What to do if your child is angry or sad ·How to manage the legal system, including information on family law and issues of custody ·How to deal with a difficult ex This is an invaluable resource that offers parents quick access to the information you most need at a time when you need it most.

When conducting parenting plan evaluations, mental health professionals need to be aware of a myriad of different factors. More so than in any other form of forensic evaluation, they must have an understanding of the most current findings in developmental research, behavioral psychology, attachment theory, and legal issues to substantiate their opinions. With a number of publications on child custody available, there is an essential need for a text focused on translating the research associated with the most important topics within the family court. This book addresses this gap in the literature by presenting an organized and in-depth analysis of the current research and offering specific recommendations for applying these findings to the evaluation process. Written by experts in the child custody arena, chapters cover issues associated with the most important and complex issues that arise in family court, such as attachment and overnight timesharing with very young children, dynamics between divorced parents and children's potential for resiliency, co-parenting children with chronic medical conditions and developmental disorders, domestic violence during separation and divorce, gay and lesbian co-parents, and relocation, among others. The scientific information provided in these chapters assists forensic mental health professionals to proffer empirically-based opinions, conclusions and recommendations. Parenting Plan Evaluations is a must-read for legal practitioners, family law judges and attorneys, and other professionals seeking to understand more about the science behind child custody evaluations.

Divorce is hard enough even in the best of circumstances. But what if your spouse is trying to turn the kids against you? What if your ex is hauling you into court over every little thing? What if you're being falsely accused of child abuse or domestic violence? Worst of all, what if you've been cut off from your children entirely? High-conflict divorce is just about the most devastating, soul-wrecking experience imaginable. The unrelenting chaos and pain can leave you exhausted and despairing. Legal fees can become a huge strain. And most importantly, there's the impact on your children, who may be grappling with anxiety, struggling at school, acting out, or turning to substances to cope. How can you keep it all together? In The High-Conflict Co-parenting Wellness Planner, high-conflict divorce experts Megan Hunter and Andrea LaRochelle offer hope and a wealth of advice. The healthier you are as a parent, the better you'll be able to help your children. Week by week, the authors guide you in taking care of yourself while navigating conflict. You'll learn practical strategies for handling the most common co-parenting scenarios. And you'll discover new ways to manage your own anger, worry, fear, stress, and grief. As hard as it may be to believe right now, it is possible to move beyond the conflict. You can overcome the alienation, regain your balance, and ultimately find freedom - from the overwhelming feelings, from the drama, and from your ex's hold on your life. This book shows you how.

I'm a survivor. For sixteen long years, I didn't believe I'd ever get to call myself that. Self-doubt, low self-esteem imposed on me by my abusive, narcissistic ex-husband, and fear held me hostage. I didn't recognize myself. Hope no longer existed. The stress and strain of just trying to live to see another day took a devastating toll on me physically, emotionally, and financially. My life was not my own, and I was tired of it. At my core, I knew I had to fight back, but after living in such a toxic environment, I wasn't sure it would make a difference. Thankfully, I summoned the courage. Call it dumb luck, an epiphany, or a sheer desire to shield my children from any more trauma, I left. Unfortunately, the abuse didn't end when I closed that chapter of my life. The next chapter invited a different form of abuse into my life in the form of dubious legal tactics, mean-spirited counter-parenting, battling false parental alienation claims, and harassment replaced the abuse I endured when we lived under the same roof. But, I had changed. Leaving left me feeling more empowered. Slowly, I saw my worth and understood that my freedom from my ex was what I needed to not only survive but thrive. Was It My Fault? is my story. In it, I share intimate details of my toxic marriage, but more than that, I share my journey out of the depths of despair and how I continue to fight for myself and my children post-separation. It's my hope that my story will inspire someone who may be in a toxic relationship and feeling like they have no fight left in them to not give up and find a path forward.

This open access book assembles landmark studies on divorce and separation in European countries, and how this affects the life of parents and children. It focuses on four major areas of post-separation lives, namely (1) economic conditions, (2) parent-child relationships, (3) parent and child well-being, and (4) health. Through studies from several European countries, the book showcases how legal regulations and social policies influence parental and child well-being after divorce and separation. It also illustrates how social policies are interwoven with the normative fabric of a country. For example, it is shown that father-child contact after separation is more intense in those countries which have adopted policies that encourage shared parenting. Correspondingly, countries that have adopted these regulations are at the forefront of more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Apart from a strong emphasis on the legal and social policy context, the studies in this volume adopt a longitudinal perspective and situate post-separation behaviour and well-being in the life course. The longitudinal perspective opens up new avenues for research to understand how behaviour and conditions prior or at divorce and separation affect later behaviour and well-being. As such this book is of special appeal to scholars of family research as well as to anyone interested in the role of divorce and separation in Europe in the 21st century.

Seventy now-adult children of divorce give their candid and often heart-wrenching answers to eight questions (arranged in eight chapters, by question), including: What were the main effects of your parents' divorce on your life? What do you say to those who claim that "children are resilient" and "children are happy when their parents are happy"? What would you like to tell your parents then and now? What do you want adults in our culture to know about divorce? What role has your faith played in your healing? Their simple and poignant responses are difficult to read and yet not without hope. Most of the contributors--women and men, young and old, single and married--have never spoken of the pain and consequences of their parents' divorce until now. They have often never been asked, and they believe that no one really wants to know. Despite vastly different circumstances and details, the similarities in their testimonies are striking; as the reader will discover, the death of a child's family impacts the human heart in universal ways.

Emery reviews the psychological, social, economic, and legal consequences of divorce, and examines how children's risk or resilience is predicted by interparental conflict, relationships with both parents, financial strain, legal/physical custody, and other factors."--BOOK JACKET.