Healing Together: Why Divorce Counseling Is Beneficial for the Whole Family

No adults begin a partnership thinking that it will end in divorce. Happily ever after doesn’t always account for changes along the way or a shift in dynamics that no longer work effectively. 

Divorce can be a hard pill to swallow and a much harder road to travel, especially when children are involved. It’s emotional, confusing, stressful, and often lengthy. Seeking out family divorce counseling can help keep you on, or return you to, the path to healing. 

Learning the Path of Divorce

Divorce is a type of loss that should come with its own grieving process. Just like other kinds of grief, there are stages to go through while healing from divorce. The five main stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. 

Just as each person grieves differently, how they manifest can be different as well. Counseling will help each member of the family uncover and understand their own respective grief process.

This can be exceptionally helpful to children who don’t fully understand emotions or how to control them. Children may develop anxiety and separation issues from the parental split. Teens may rebel as a coping mechanism. Being able to address each person individually and within the group can tackle these challenges. 

Establishing Healthy Communication Practices

When a family is going through a divorce, communication and listening are essential. Odds are, if a divorce is occurring, there was likely a communication issue somewhere along the line. Establishing more effective skills while entering this new chapter can help calm the waves.

While emotions may be running quite high at this point and conversations can be triggering, listening needs to be practiced and feelings need to be validated. In order to move forward and keep the family’s well-being in mind, constructive communication matters, no matter how hard it may seem. 

Counseling can help with conflict resolution, strategies to work through communication issues, understanding how to validate feelings, and how to be a better listener. 

Creating a New Normal

Prior to the divorce, you’ve lived your lives operating as a complete family unit. Now that the divorce is happening, that world as each member knew it is being torn apart. Part of the rebuilding process during and after divorce is creating a new routine and sense of normalcy. 

Each parent needs to establish some level of trust with each other in order to maintain co-parenting duties. Children can have many reactions to the new status, especially dependent on how much information they're privy to. 

Counseling can address trust issues and help find a new balance between parents. It can also help with co-parenting and creating a healthy routine that is the least impactful on the children.

Additionally, counseling can assist with future goals. There are a lot of unknowns that come with divorce and it’s healthy to have long-term goals and a plan to achieve them. While the family unit will look different, you’ll all still be connected for life. 

Preventing Issues from Becoming Larger Ones

Seeking out guidance early in the divorce process can be beneficial in keeping the fires at bay. As mentioned, emotions often run high during these proceedings. Small issues can quickly become larger ones and unhealthy behaviors can fuel that fire. 

By attending counseling, everyone can learn coping strategies and problem-solving methods that will allow for healthy management of issues. If matters can move forward in a less stressful way, relationships, friendships, and dynamics can be salvaged. 

Building Resilience

Counseling can be beneficial for building much needed resilience in the face of a hard challenge. Therapy sessions can address feelings so they’re processed effectively, teach good habits, and provide the necessary tools to handle future challenges. 

It doesn't matter what age the family member is, there is something that can be gained from attending sessions. 

Is your family going through a divorce? Contact us for help throughout the process through family therapy.