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Co-Parent Tip of the Month: Ten Rules
This month, I want to share the rules of co-parent communication that we teach twice a month in our Advanced Issues in Co-Parenting Workshop for the Gwinnett County courts. If you don’t know about this workshop, you can access info about it HERE. Please share these with your clients and ask them to not use…
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Nana: I Was Just Trying to Help
(To protect confidentiality, names and details have been modified.) I first met Becky, a 62-year-old grandmother, after spending a few sessions with her grandchildren, ages 8 and 10. She was a sweet southern woman who clearly loved her family and wasn’t sure why I wanted to see her. I asked her to come in for…
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Jasmine: Daddy’s Little Girl
(To protect confidentiality, names and details have been modified) Jasmine’s mom and step-dad came to see me after attending our Advanced Issues in Co-Parenting Workshop at the Gwinnett Courthouse. Mom said she had never heard of the workshop before until she went to see her attorney when her daughter said she might like to come…
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Daniel: But I Hate Cucumbers!
(To protect confidentiality, names and details have been modified) When I met Daniel, he was 11-years-old and somewhat frail and emotionally young for his age. He was terrified to be in the same room with his dad. It was my job as a reunification therapist to help him and his father reconnect. They hadn’t seen…
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John & Charlotte: Why Can’t We Just Be Friends?
John and Charlotte came to see me voluntarily because they both realized that their conflict was out of control and hurting their three children. Unlike many co-parents who are ordered to see us, they actually wanted things to change, so they were motivated. After I had an individual session with each of them, I had a good…
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Olivia’s Story: You Had Me at Hello
(To protect confidentiality, names and details have been modified) She was conceived on a one-night-stand and her parents never married — not a great love story for the child to remember. Nevertheless, Olivia had adjusted to a 50/50 custody schedule with her parents by the time she was two. I first met her when she…
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Secret Sauce for the 20 Percent
High-conflict co-parents are defined as those who cannot fit into the roughly 30 percent who are cooperative (flexible with ease in communication and negotiation) or the roughly 50 percent who can achieve a parallel style (following the court-ordered plan with minimal communication, negotiation or flexibility). The conflicted 20 percent are those we professionals try to…
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Give Something for Nothing!
It takes donations to provide sliding scale services to our/your clients. Here are two ways to give to us without spending a dime: AMAZON.com — instead of going to amazon.com, copy and paste this address into your browser every time you shop: smile.amazon.com/ch/58-2497206 Then, just shop like you normally do. Nothing is different. Amazon will donate a percentage of…
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Let’s Just Call a Therapist
“…of course the therapist would have to say something to the court…wouldn’t she?”
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18 is the New 15
Teens are not equipped to handle too much responsibility. Recent research is telling us that 18 is the new 15, meaning that teens are maturing at a slower rate than they were decades ago. According to Dr. Daniel Siegel, “In a culture that says, ‘Okay, you’re going to go to high school, go to college,…
