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The impact of separation and divorce on the family

Separation and divorce have been evidenced as one of the most stressful life events a family can experience. Children’s chances are strongly influenced by their parents’ relationship, whether they are together or separated. Exposure to parental conflict can have long-term negative impacts on children’s early emotional, behavioural, cognitive and social development. Academic research from around the world has evidenced that frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict causes stress and depression for the whole family including children, undermining their education and employment prospects.

The Parenting Apart Programme

The intervention is evidence based and designed to engage and positively support these parents to put aside conflict in their relationship and find a way to be competent and considerate co-parents to their children going forwards.

The unique structure of the programme has been created to centrally focus the minds of the parents on the psychological needs of their child, through a strengths-based, attachment-focused approach. It is a structured intervention, drawing on ideas from couples and family therapy, conflict resolution and communication theories to give the parents the best possible chance of developing a positive working relationship. Parents educated on the impact of parental separation and divorce on children and are asked to show commitment to the prioritisation of the mental health and emotional well-being of their child(ren).

Throughout the Programme, parents access relationally-focused activities, guidance and motivational support, facilitated by a Practitioner. Parents are supported to come together, to reflect on how conflict has hindered their collaboration as separated parents and helped to navigate back from conflict in a way that can strengthen their trust in each other as parents