Our divorce counsellor offers support in the following areas:
- Couple counselling
- Young people’s counselling
- Therapeutic play
- Family counselling
- Sex therapy
- Psychosexual therapy
- Life skills training
- Therapeutic group skills
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Skills
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy
- Domestic violence
- Suicide and self-harm
- Eating disorders
- Mental health issues
Services offered by our divorce counsellor
Couple counselling for divorce
Couple’s counselling can be highly beneficial for couples who are considering divorce. In some cases, it may help them to find a way to save their marriage but even where this is not possible, it can be very useful.
Having couple’s counselling can make any subsequent divorce much easier by giving both people time to process their issues and come to a mutual understanding about the state of their relationship. This can be especially important where there are children that the couple will need to co-parent going forwards.
Counselling during divorce
The divorce process is notoriously stressful and, while the right legal support can help to alleviate some of this stress, having support for your mental wellbeing can be really valuable. Our divorce counsellor can support people through the divorce process, as well as counselling children through divorce.
Experience shows that people who receive counselling during divorce often deal with the situation much better and are able to move on much more quickly and effectively.
Counselling after divorce
Following a divorce, it is common for there to be a mixture of different, often difficult emotions. Grief, anger, sadness and confusion are all typical, but people can also react in very different ways. Having the right counselling after divorce can help to address these emotional issues and allow people to find a healthy way forward.
We can provide counselling for anyone affected by divorce, including counselling for children after divorce. Able to take various approaches to match your needs, our counsellor will work closely with you to understand the issues you are dealing with and then provide carefully tailored support to match your concerns and goals.
Divorce counselling group workshops
A two-hour workshop offered to separating/divorcing parents looking at children’s responses to family breakdown, ways to handle these responses and how to best manage communication as separated parents.
An 8-session course for children in Primary Schools offering them the opportunity to talk about what it’s like for them when Mum and Dad separate and to know that other children might be having similar experiences and feelings. Parents are offered some insights into their children’s thoughts, worries and emotional responses at the end of the course. Below are some of the testimonials we received from parents:
“(child’s name) is now trying to express her feelings”
“(child’s name) loved the support the group gave her”
“It was informative for a parent to see the emotions the child felt through their eyes. They now feel it is ok to be different, that not all families are the same”
“Very helpful and reassuring”
“Very supportive friendly group, (child’s name) enjoyed their time with you, thank you”
The children also gave comments:
“I liked this group I think it helped me realise”
“The best group ever!”
“This group has really helped me and I have learnt that it is ok to be different”
New Beginnings: The Next Chapter
An eight-session course lasting 90 minutes per session and running weekly. This is offered to women who are looking to move on but still recovering from their split. The power of shared experience is always apparent and good friendships are forged, the group are encouraged to become more and more self-managing as time goes on and a ‘9th’ session is scheduled as a social event.
Here is a note from our counsellor Liz Headley about the most recent group:
"On this occasion the group is made up of six women at varying stages of the separation and divorce process. They have all had some 1:1 sessions with me, some of them over quite a long period of time and they all expressed an interest in joining the New Beginnings, The Next Chapter group.
This group offers the opportunity for the participants to share their own stories in as much detail as feels comfortable. Although everyone's experience of relationship breakdown and the separation and divorce process is unique, usually a variety of themes emerge which resonate with at least some of the group members
What is discussed in the 90 minute sessions is very much led by the group and I am just facilitating, however I can offer a psychological perspective on some of the issues they bring up if required.
The general aims of the groups are to provide an empathic environment where no-one feels judged or criticised. Over the years I have regularly heard those going through separation and divorce saying that they worry that family and friends are tiring of hearing them talk about how they are feeling or how they are feeling about their ex. The group allows all the women to speak about these topics in a confidential space where they will feel heard and supported. I would hope that by the end of the sessions, the women will have grown in confidence, that their self worth will have improved and they that they will face the future with some optimism being more aware of the opportunities it can offer them.
Generally the group runs over eight sessions, but every time I have run this group some have continued to stay in contact with each other and friendships have grown and flourished."
Living with Separation and Divorce
Aimed at women experiencing relationship breakdown who are at the very beginning of the process. Three monthly sessions offering emotional support and guidance.
Divorce counselling FAQs
What happens in divorce counselling?
Exactly what happens in divorce counselling will depend on you and your requirements. An important point to note is that anything you share with our counsellor will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Our counsellor will work with you to understand what the issues are that you are dealing with, then they will devise a tailored counselling plan to help you overcome those issues. You will agree goals based on what you would like to achieve and then work towards these over a number of sessions. How many sessions you need will depend on your circumstances and this will be regularly reviewed to make sure that you get exactly the support that you need.
What does a divorce counsellor do?
A counsellor can help people dealing with divorce in various ways, depending on their needs. Often people may not be exactly sure what support they need, so the counsellor might start by working with them to identify what they are struggling with. Alternatively, you might know exactly what’s wrong but not know how to find a solution.
Our divorce counsellor, Liz Headley, will tailor her approach to your needs. Liz is able to offer a variety of different therapeutic approaches, including person-centred, psychodynamic, systemic, solution focused and CBT (Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies).
What is the best therapy for divorce?
There is no set answer to this question as the best therapy for divorce will depend on the person and the situation. As covered above, our divorce counsellor offers a variety of different approaches, so she will need to carry out an initial assessment to decide the best method for you.
To find out more about the different types of divorce therapy we can offer, please get in touch using the details below.
Speak to us about divorce counselling
To speak to us about our holistic approach to divorce and separation, please contact your local Brethertons office in Banbury, Bicester and Rugby. We work with clients across Coventry and Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and nationwide.
If you are specifically interested in learning more about our counselling for divorce, then you can contact Liz Headley directly.
