Ten Resources to Help Work with Divorce and Custody Disputes in Family Therapy

Divorce and custody disputes can be the most complex, conflict-filled cases that family therapists see. NEAFAST hosts a monthly peer support group that provides strategies for working with these challenging cases.

From developing parents plans to navigating parental alienation, these ten resources can help you provide therapy that supports children, builds effective parent-child relationships, and establishes healthy boundaries and expectations. Join us on the first Friday of the month from 12-1:30 to learn more.

1. The Parental Alienation Syndrome by Linda Gottlieb
2. Sex, Love, and Violence: Strategies for Transformation by Cloe Madanes 
3. Don't Alienate the Kids!: Raising Resilient Children While Avoiding High Conflict Divorce (2nd ed.) by Bill Eddy 
4. Working with Alienated Children and Families: A Clinical Guidebook by Amy Baker and Richard Sauber 
5. Understanding and Managing Parental Alienation: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention by Janet Haines, et al 
6. Parent-child Reunification: A Guide to Legal and Forensic Strategies by Stanley Clawar
7. Parental Alienation: Science and Law by Demosthenes Lorandas and William Bernet's 
8. AAMFT Best Practices for Working with Divorce and Custody
9. AFCC Court Involved Therapist Guidelines 
10. Ethical and Professional Considerations in Divorce and Child Custody Cases by Jeffrey Zimmerman, et al. (In Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2009, 40(6), 539-549

Sign up for the Divorce and Custody Support Group

Scott Cohen is a former President of the Massachusetts Association for Marriage & Family Therapy. Scott served for 15 years on the Allied Board of Mental Health as a representative for MFTs, and he’s currently the Treasurer of the Association for Marriage & Family Therapy Regulatory Board.

This is a transcription from the interview conducted by Jeremiah Gibson, Executive Director of the New England Association for Family & Systemic Therapy (NEAFAST), with Scott Cohen on July 27, 2020. Watch the full interview here.

Parenting differences may be especially highlighted at this time because for many of us, there's no escape from the daily grind and everyone's emotions are heightened. Whether you are parenting teens or young kids, I want to provide some suggestions on how parents may better support one another.

Can you and your partner find value in one another's parenting styles or perspectives?