Divorce Doesn't Have to Be That Way: A Handbook for the Helping Professional (The Practical Therapist Series)

By Jane Appell

A comprehensive guide to divorce counseling for therapists and all helping professionals, Divorce Doesn't Have to Be That Way is packed with intervention procedures for all key elements of the divorce... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886230714
• ISBN13: 9781886230712
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Impact
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Counselor's Guidebook

Dr. Appell has done a superb job in creating this concise, pragmatic and accessible tool box for the practicing counselor or clinician who is engaged in the work of facilitating the decision making processes for those contemplating divorce, or who have made the leap and are navigating their way through the twists and turns of life post-divorce. This text is level-headed and honest. It presents the wisdom born of years of careful study and attentive presence to clients. This is a must read for any therapist working with couples who are considering, or are in the midst of divorce. And, many parts of the text would be extremely helpful for anyone who has experienced divorce, as there are so many templates to help organize and clarify the confusing issues that come with the dissolution of any marriage.

A really helpful and well-written book. A great addition to any divorce professional's collection.

This book is both readable and useful. I disagree with the reviewer who found this book too generic. I doubt he read this book carefully. If he knew more than the author, she either really helped him, or he spent a great deal of time doing research about divorce. The author's many years of experience in working with divorcing individuals and families comes through in every chapter. Though it is supposed to be written for helping professionals, this book useful is a useful resource for separating individuals and families in that it provides new insights and helpful tips for coping with divorce. This book also makes you think about the kind of help that is most useful when going through the divorce process, and how to avoid the kind of professional help that can make things worse.

A great resource!

I have read and reread Dr. Appell's book and found it to be a great reasource for me with my divorcing clients. It is insightful and to the point and covers a wide range of areas that divorcing parents may be facing. When working with divorcing parents it is usually only information from their prospective and input that you have to work with. Understanding the many complex areas of a family going through a divorce as well as the impact it has on their children is essential. This book covers many topics in a clear, concise manner and offers effective information to provide to clients. In my opinion, divorcing parents would benefit from reading this book, as well as clinicians, to help them better understand the effect their behavior has on their children. I would recommend this book to any clinicians working with divorcing families as well as individuals who may be going through divorces themselves.

Covers working with 'problem' personalities, domestic abuse, child custody, alternatives to litigati

"Divorce Doesn't Have To Be That Way: A Handbook For The Helping Professional" by Jane Appell (a private practice psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Tufts new England medical Center, and President of the Massachusetts Association of Guardians Ad Litem) offers marriage counselors and family therapists with a complete guide to divorce counseling with an emphasis on providing healthy support to clients that is family centered and non-adversarial. Step-by-step therapeutic intervention procedures are outlined and explained covering all of the key elements of the divorce process from initial decision to relevant legal issues. Highly recommended as informed and informative reading, "Divorce Doesn't Have To Be That Way" covers working with 'problem' personalities, domestic abuse, child custody, alternatives to litigation, and more. Also strongly recommended from Impact Publishers' 'The Practical Therapist Series' for therapists counseling couples considering or engaging in divorce actions is "Defusing The High-Conflict Divorce: A Treatment Guide For Working With Angry.

Divorce should offer opportunities for growth

Seeing divorce as a growth process is no easy feat when you're bogged down in the needs, responsibilities, and emotions surrounding your breakup. As author Appell points out, most of the professionals you turn to for help are committed to using their power in an intelligent, wise manner. They want to do what they can to minimize pain, protect the kids involved, and promote a peaceful dissolution of marriage that doesn't have to leave anybody devastated. That's the ideal. The problem is that there hasn't been much in the way of good training materials to guide helpers in keeping the big picture in view and steering clients through divorce in a healthy, positive way. Appell wrote this comprehensive handbook to give helping professionals a practical reference for honing skills and developing instincts in today's complicated divorce environment. There's a lot of information available, she says, but not much solid advice on how to apply it. That's what she does here, addressing each issue from her own experience as a custody evaluator, parenting coordinator, mediator, and psychotherapist. She knows that what seems like help is often actually a hindrance in the long run; that helping is not always about being an advocate in the aggressive sense of the word, fighting to help your client win custody or keep the house or nail an abusive ex with a restraining order. Those things might constitute a kind of support, she explains, but they're not always in the best interest of the client. Appell strives to make professionals -- marriage and family therapists, psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, physicians, clergy, and others -- aware of the ripple effects every divorce decision has. This book includes a concise summary of the divorce system and its key players, as well as an overview of the societal context of divorce. It details alternatives to litigation, and offers descriptive scenarios and tools for keeping conflict to a minimum and clients "at the maximum level of functioning" throughout the process. Appell advocates a holistic approach to balancing the needs of individuals, couples, and families, so they can transition as productively as possible under the circumstances. Since this is a highly charged area to work in, helpers must be objective and rational as well as sensitive if their ultimate goal is to be a force for healing. This is an empowering, well-written guide for anyone working in the helping professions.