Co-parenting therapy is an agreement where both parents share responsibility for raising their child or children in a spirit that promotes cooperation, healing and growth, and the professionals assist with facilitating the process.

Co-parenting after a separation, divorce, or blended family can be quite challenging. When a family separates, they end their personal relationship as partners, but continue their ongoing relationship as co-parents, in a new way. It is the re-negotiation of the relationships with the issues and concerns that created the split that create the ongoing drama and traumatic challenges. For many parents, this process may be quite contentious, as the different agendas create conflict. Both parents want to share time with their child(ren), but have difficulty maintaining boundaries and keeping separate personal issues from becoming entangled in parenting issues. These are the parents for which co-parent therapy is intended.

Co-parent therapy allows parents an opportunity to talk about the best interests of their children in a neutral environment and, to receive input and advice from a professional about how their decisions will impact the family and the children.

Our team members are well experienced in working with children and families of high conflict. Issues arising from parenting time schedules, to day-to-day parenting can be discussed and parents can be kept ‘on point’ when concerns and issues drift from parenting to personal/marital issues that are needing to be kept distinct from the best interests and needs of their child(ren).

Our team members approach to co-parent therapy is to regard the children and their best interests as our primary clients. The focus in treatment is on the difficulties between the parents and guardians, only as they relate to agreed upon co-parenting goals.

One of the most common goals we work with is assisting parents to unburden their children by learning to manage their own emotions and anxieties, while strengthening their ability to function in support of the children.

Through co-parent therapy, parents can learn to free themselves from dysfunctional, emotionally charged communication and behavior patterns and create clearly defined, respectful, and objective approaches to problem-solving and decision-making.

Parents who are separated or divorced, or who are in the process of splitting up, may benefit from co-parent therapy. Although specific treatment goals will vary according to the individual needs of each family member, the team will assist in establishing agreements regarding the following:

• Workable parenting plans
• How to make joint decisions
• How and when to communicate between parents, along with what should be communicated and what should not
• Any other issues that require professional attention.

Co-parent therapy will also help one or both parents resolve some of their negative emotions related to the ending of the relationship so that both can transition cleanly and focus more fully on parenting issues without the intrusion of “unfinished business” from the past.

Co-parent therapy is not for every parent who cannot resolve issues with their child’s other parent. Individuals who cannot tolerate working together with the other parent, or who cannot constructively contribute to a dialogue in which issues are identified and resolved may find co-parent therapy frustrating and ineffective.

For people in a situation where Co-parent therapy is not suitable, the family may require involvement with, direct court intervention, court supervised mediation, custody evaluation, and other such arrangements which could be more effective for the family and for the finances.

Many years of clinical experience show that many people enter therapeutic programs reluctantly and skeptically, and many of those that attend are surprised to find that with skills, support and expertise, that they are able to resolve issues, working out parenting arrangements that support their children’s ability to flourish instead of flounder.