Collaborative Divorce: A Paradigm Shift in Theory and Practice

Collaborative Divorce represents a paradigm shift in how divorce traditionally has been understood and practiced. It is a unique way for psychologists to provide services to clients. Psychologists can serve as a Neutral Collaborative Divorce Coach and work on a Collaborative team with family law attorneys and financial professionals to help clients divorce with transparency, respect, and dignity. This article presents an overview of Collaborative Divorce to inform psychologists about this pathway to divorce for their clients and to encourage psychologists to obtain specialized training in order to offer Collaborative Divorce services. We begin with a brief history of divorce including the emergence of the Collaborative Divorce movement, highlight the defining features of Collaborative Divorce, and contrast it with traditional litigation as well as psychologists' traditional forensic roles. Ethical considerations when working under this paradigm are also discussed. Specific roles and responsibilities of the psychologist as a Neutral Collaborative Divorce Coach including strategies for managing impasses and suggestions for building a collaborative practice are discussed. Clinical Impact StatementPsychologists can extend their clinical practices into the realm of divorce coaching, utilizing their strengths in understanding and managing emotions to manage a peaceful and respectful divorce process outside of the court system. Divorcing families will benefit from the creation of developmentally sensitive parenting plans, and parents will be better positioned to coparent when they have been taught effective communication skills, without the divisive influence of the court system.