Family Separation

For many people, family is a crucial part of life and happiness. Therefore it can be very difficult to cope when major conflicts arise and separation takes place. Particularly when it’s between you and a partner, it can be very difficult to accept and cope with the big life changes that accompany a break-up. Not only does it take a toll on your emotions, but it can also bring up issues regarding living arrangements and child custody.

Many issues occur while trying to make these decisions and come to an agreement with the other party involved – and it is often difficult to navigate through these areas alone when there is broken communication within the relationship. It is normal to experience concerns, stress and sadness while going through this, but if this has become so excessive and ongoing that it is beginning to affect your functioning in other aspects of life – it may be beneficial to seek help from a psychologist.

The practitioners at VCPS can help in the form of individual therapy or couple therapy – in order to diffuse any intense emotions and allow better communication and decision-making to take place. It can help you decide together whether separating is the best option, and ease the stress of a separation by making it a more civil and manageable experience for both parties.

Some specific areas that a psychologist can provide support for include:

• Give ongoing support and information throughout the separation process
• Help to identify any concerns or negative feelings towards the situation, and address these so that the situation can be better managed
• Assist in building communication strategies and anger management techniques
• Assisting in findings ways to discuss the separation with others (specifically children)
• Provide an environment to calmly discuss and negotiate about any issues within the separation
• Help to discuss future plans and come to a shared agreement