Couples often pursue counseling in order to restore or rebuild a marriage. However, sometimes there are differences are too great and couple may decide to divorce. Unfortunately, about 50% of marriages in the United Sates end in divorce. The impact on individuals is often challenging but as a couple, there can also be great implications. The ending of a relationship often evokes various feeling for people like sadness, anger, hopelessness, anxiety, relief, disappointment, shock, and regret. Facing feelings alone is often daunting and can even shift from day to day. All of this is normal.  However, in addition to the emotional challenges, there are often difficulties involving logistics such as dividing belonging and determining childcare. How do couple begin a new kind of relationship especially as it may invovle parenting children to foster emotional health and consistency for their children?

For many, it is important to work through this time with a therapist who can help them feel supported, while also helping to establish strategies for moving forward with a new sense of "normal" that can be both satisfying and fulfillng.

Successful separation and divorce therapy often helps to determine a common goal with the ex-partner.  There are healthy ways to move forward if couple can learn to let go of the past hurts and focus on the solution for the good of their future. While there can be challenges to this process, it is import to determine of a couple in is a place personally where they can remain calm and civil. At time it is helpful for each individual to meet with the therapist in order to determine if this process is something that can be done effectively.

Divorce or separation is the end of a type of relationship but it is often he beginning of a new kind of a relationship that looks more like a partnership. Some common stages when children are involved are as follows:

• Grieving the loss
• Negotiating new boundaries
• Determining new roles
• Understanding expectations
• Creating a consistency
• Managing frustrations and healthy communication
• Processing the idea of new signifiant others & their roles