Family Therapy for High Conflict Divorce/Separation
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Authors
Moens, Marissa
Issue Date
2025-03-10
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
family therapy , high conflict , divorce , attachment theory , externalizing and internalizing problems , parental alienation
Alternative Title
Abstract
The divorce process often involves complex issues such as an exacerbation of mental health symptoms, attachment insecurities, communication breakdown, and internalizing and externalizing behaviours in children (O’Hara et al., 2019). This capstone explores how family therapies can support recovery, improve parenting, and strengthen parent-child relationships in the aftermath of high conflict separation/divorce (HCS/D). It explores what defines HCS/D, its impact on parenting, and the impact of interparental conflict on children and adolescents. Through an attachment theory lens, this paper addresses difficult concepts such as parental alienation and explores how family therapy models offer interventions to navigate HCS/D. Finally, this capstone presents a professional development workshop for school counsellors. The findings in the capstone will hopefully encourage therapists to incorporate systemic therapies, working with as many family members as possible in high conflict divorce/separation cases to provide holistic and wrap around support for parents and children.
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Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess