High-Conflict Divorce

High-conflict divorce happens when two people stay psychologically tangled up in each other -- even if one or both has married someone else and started a new family. Their inability to disengage and resolve conflict often leads to repeated litigation, custody battles, violation of court orders, and relational dynamics that make kids feel they need to take sides.

High-conflict individuals aren’t bad people; they just have poor strategies for getting their needs met, which makes them really tough to deal with. They can’t tolerate feeling that they’ve failed, so they look for targets to blame – generally their exes!

They have trouble regulating their emotions, recognizing that other people are entitled to different points of view, and understanding that there’s usually more than one way to solve a problem. High-conflict individuals may suffer from mental illness, addiction, or have features of personality disorders. And, here’s the thing:

It takes only one high-conflict personality to create divorce drama.

Dealing With A High-Conflict Ex Can Make You Feel Anxious, Depressed, And Hopeless

High-conflict exes tend to create chaos by threatening or instigating lawsuits, playing games with visitation and or/child support, bad-mouthing you to anyone who will listen, and making false allegations. They turn routine drop-offs into melodramatic events. They are particularly fond of sending hostile texts and emails to harass you!

Being on the receiving end of seemingly endless drama can become debilitating. If you’re dealing with a high-conflict ex, you may be experiencing:

• Sleep disturbances
• Depressed mood
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Difficulty eating
• Irritable outbursts
• Decreased ability to focus at work or at home
• Social withdrawal

If you feel embarrassed by your situation, you may keep your feelings to yourself, which can make you even more depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, and isolated. Divorce is one of the most difficult experiences anyone can face. But you don’t need to face it alone.

Talking to a therapist who specializes in high-conflict divorce can help you feel better, more in control, and able to enjoy life again.

You Need Strategies To Help You Manage Your High-Conflict Divorce

Trying to reason with someone who is inherently not reasonable is like going to the hardware store looking for milk. You need to accept that your ex may never “get over it” and that you may not be able to “consciously co-parent” together, no matter what other people tell you.

As your therapist, my job is to educate you about your situation and support you as you develop strategies to manage your high-conflict divorce. These strategies include:

• Minimizing contact
• Developing an effective communication style
• Setting and maintaining boundaries
• Parallel Parenting
• Managing your own reactions
• Finding ways to make your children feel secure

For Court-Mandated Clients

If you and your ex have been ordered to get co-parenting counseling, I can help you gain tools to regulate your nervous system and communicate skillfully so you can navigate co-parenting challenges with less conflict and focus on the best interests of your child.

What’s Included In Co-Parenting Counseling:

Effective co-parenting is possible! It just requires a willingness to disengage from your ex’s behavior and learn new skills. During your co-parenting therapy, I will provide:

• Techniques for calming an overactive nervous system
• BINF protocol for effective communication
• Break-out individual sessions as needed to minimize conflict
• Progress report for court

What’s NOT included in Co-Parenting Counseling:

It’s important for you to understand that I am not a Parental Alienation expert, nor am I a custody evaluator. I cannot provide:

• Reunification therapy
• Custody evaluations
• Testimony on your behalf in court

You can’t change your ex, but you can improve the quality of your life by changing the way you react and relate to your ex – and I’m here to help you do that.