1. Introducing the Territory of Post-Separation/Divorce Family Conflict.- 2. The Changing Shape of Family Conflict.- 3. The Separating Family and its Conflict Management.- 4. The Spectrum of Post-Separation Family Negotiation and Conflict .- 5. Parental Conflict over Child Access .- 6. Family Court Responses to Parent Conflict over Child Access.- 7. Parental Alienation and Justified Rejection of a Parent.- 8. Working with 'High Conflict' Parents and Their Children.- 9. Connecting and Reconnecting Parents and Children Following Prolonged Separation.- 10. Future Responses to Family Conflict after Separation and Divorce
Jim Sheehan is Professor of Family Therapy & Systemic Practice at Diakonhjemmet University College, Oslo, Norway, and School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Irelan
With forty-two per cent of marriages ending in divorce and many cohabiting couples separating, family therapy has become a key aspect of counselling and psychotherapy. Beginning with descriptions of contemporary pre-separation family conflict patterns, this book progresses to examine the challenges faced by families and their assisting professionals as they transition through residential separation, parental struggle, mediation assistance, family court applications, and other patterns of unending high conflict.
Focusing on practitioner needs, the skills required, and a range of helpful interventions that can be used to address specific contexts, each chapter has a four-part structure that includes:
The description of a topic-related theme, its related concepts and evidence base
The making concrete of the theme through case vignettes of family conflict and their discussion
The naming of the challenges faced by professionals, the skill set required, and helpful interventions they might use in their responses
Concluding exercises designed to assist students and professionals towards an increasingly reflective practice
Written by a leading expert in Family and Conflict Therapy, a growing area of academic and professional interest, Family Conflict after Separation and Divorce is the only book to combine theory, research, and practice into one accessible text that helps promote the personal and professional development of practitioners and students alike.