Divorce and Co-Parenting
I call this choice therapy. The work is finding out whether the two of you can get along, and not deciding whether you should stay together. If it turns out you cannot, I help you separate, and if there are children involved, work out ways to protect your children through the divorce as much as possible.
In person in West LA, or by video anywhere in California.
Usually one person calls, looking for support while the marriage is ending. From there the work often moves into co-parenting.
What a Session Looks Like
A divorce session is much more structural. We work on how to approach things and how specifically to say them, both to the children and to one another, and on recognizing that you should not adjudicate the marriage in the divorce. I use LVVR and PACT here as well.
The Children
Most of this work is what people call co-parenting. I call it co-protection, because the job is protecting the children from the fallout.
In practice that means keeping the children out of the middle: no messages passed through them and no asking them to choose. We work on how each of you speaks about the other parent, how handoffs go, and what the children are told and by whom.
Sometimes contact between the two of you keeps going wrong. Parallel parenting is the alternative: each of you runs your own house, and contact stays minimal and in writing. The goal is to keep the children out of the conflict.
What I Do Not Do
I do no court work: no custody evaluations, no mandated treatment, no reports for a judge. I also do not work alongside attorneys or mediators. This is therapy, kept separate from the legal process.
Rates and How to Start
A session is priced by its length, and the rates are on the rates page. I do not take insurance. However, I provide a monthly superbill, which you can submit to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement. Whether your plan pays anything back is up to your plan.
Usually one of you calls first. That is fine, and it is where most of this work starts. Call or text me, or book through the client portal.