The primary goal of the Child Specialist is to minimize the negative emotional and traumatic impact of divorce on your children.
A Child Specialist is also the person who gives your children a voice in the divorce process and helps the parents to understand the feelings, needs and wishes of the children.
The Child Specialist spends time meeting with, and getting to know your children. In so doing we learn about their questions, fears, concerns and struggles within the divorce process and its aftermath. Because the Child Specialist is a Mental Health Professional we are trained to engage the children on their emotional and intellectual level, earn their trust and provide a safe haven thereby enabling the children to be open and honest with their feelings.
Engaging in this type of dialogue facilitates two primary goals: It enables me to answer the children’s questions about the divorce, quell their fears and reassure them about the future. Such dialogue also enables the children to have a voice in the process and conveys useful information to the parent, and/or the Collaborative Professional, other.
As a Child Specialist I am also able to help answer parent’s questions about what is in the best interests of the children as supported by current research findings within the field of divorce and its impact on children.
