MHPs play an invaluable role in the Collaborative Divorce process for attorneys and clients alike.

For attorneys, the MHP serves as a critical resource by helping them understand their clients’ emotional triggers, fears, and concerns, and can provide crucial assistance in settlement negotiations by identifying emotional and psychological roadblocks to settlement—explaining how the clients’ feelings are inhibiting progress and suggesting a framework for more fruitful outcomes. MHPs can further assist attorneys in understanding how their own reactions and behaviors may be causing anger or annoyance to one or both clients and can recommend that the attorneys approach problems in different ways that will be better received by the clients.

For clients, although MHPs do not treat or diagnose clients when working in this process, the MHP on the Collaborative Divorce team is specially trained and can assist in identifying and handling the challenging client behaviors and can diffuse the intensity when the clients’ emotional and psychological challenges cause them to be reactive or get stuck.

MHPs can help guide the Collaborative Divorce team. Although not diagnosing and treating mental health issues, they can assess the client’s interactional patterns MHPs can share this information with the attorneys in order to increase the team’s understanding of the relationship dynamic.

Importantly, the MHP can help guide the Collaborative Divorce team in assessing whether couples who have struggled with intimate partner violence, coercive control, or substance abuse behaviors will be able to take part in the collaborative process by evaluating the extent of the violence and can offer suggestions on how to address behaviors that may interfere with a fair and sustainable settlement.

The MHP is present to work separately as a Coach or together as a Neutral Facilitator or Family Specialist with the clients to develop a “shared narrative” for how and when their children will be informed about their separation and divorce and to create a comprehensive Parenting Plan. MHPs can provide expertise in child development and the psychological impact of divorce on the family. They are able to help the clients establish parameters of their co-parenting relationship going forward, recognizing that a positive vision of the future requires moving past all of the hurt, fear, and angry feelings that result from the divorce process.

The MHP may additionally be included on a Collaborative Divorce team as a “Child Specialist” capacity, which brings the voice and needs of a child into the process. A Child Specialist does not provide therapy for children. They will meet with them and will then give the clients feedback on their children’s experiences, which helps the parents understand what the children are thinking and feeling and can improve their ability to talk to the children about difficult issues. The “Child Specialist” may also work with adult children of divorce as they too experience challenges and may need guidance and direction. In order to navigate difficult discussions. with their parents about their divorce.