Divorce is one of the most stressful events in a family’s life. LCS offers many services to help you make a healthy transition toward a new beginning.
Separation and divorce is recognized as one of the most stressful events in a family’s life. It can be a time of great pain and uncertainty. Our associates use their expertise in psychology, child development, divorce process, and conflict resolution to help families experience the most healthy separation and divorce process possible. Lewis Consulting Services offers many services to help the family emerge from the pain, focus on the solutions, and turn uncertainty into new possibilities.
Parenting Coordination – helps parents follow custody agreements with the goal of reducing parental conflict and unnecessary court appearances. The Parenting Coordinator is a neutral person and does not represent either parent, but works in the best interest of the child(ren). If you are running back to Court on issue after issue or stuck in a conflicted relationship with the other parent, consider the service of a Parenting Coordinator. You will likely experience more timely service, lower costs and generally greater control of the outcome as negotiated agreements are encouraged. Dr.
Parenting Plan Consultation – When developing a parenting plan/custody arrangement, the input of a psychologist with knowledge of children’s developmental stages and how they relate to divorce and parenting arrangements can be invaluable. Lewis Consulting Services assists parents and attorneys with parenting plan agreements in several ways. 1) We help with setting up a temporary schedule while the parents negotiate a more permanent plan. 2) We provide one-time consultations on parenting plan arrangements. This consultation works well for parents who agree on most of the terms, but would like expert input regarding their children’s developmental needs. 3) We develop and help negotiate the parenting agreement with parents. To that end we meet with the parents (and sometimes the children) to create an arrangement that is sensitive to the needs and adjustment of children and the effect of divorce on family relationships. This service is also helpful in the collaborative divorce process with attorneys.
Parent Education – Research has established that children of high conflict parental separation/divorce may exhibit a decreased ability to function academically, socially and psychologically because of stress. Our 4-hour workshop for separated and divorced parents focuses on: 1) helping you understand the impact of parental conflict and divorce on your children and 2) providing concrete actions that you can take to help your children succeed through this process. This is a North Carolina court-approved workshop to satisfy requirements for parent/divorce education. Children are not allowed to attend the parenting course; however, significant others, grandparents and step-parents are encouraged to attend because they may be making decisions that affect the child.
Counseling for Cooperative Co-parenting – can be extremely helpful in developing effective parenting and co-parenting skills during and after divorce. Research shows that no single factor is more important for a child’s adjustment to divorce than parents who can end their marriage in a mature and healthy way. Counseling for Cooperative Co-parenting is an extension of the Parenting Choices Workshop and is a great opportunity to commit to an amicable separation and divorce process. The goal is to create and maintain a positive working relationship with the other parent that meets the needs of the children. This service is generally not recommended for high-conflict parents (see Parenting Coordination), and usually takes place in three to four sessions, with on-going consultations as needed.
Individual Therapy - Sometimes individuals are overwhelmed as anger, fear, hurt and confusion seem to take over. Or you may feel trapped in one of the stages of grief (which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance). Individual therapy can help you manage and work through the emotional issues, freeing you to work toward feelings of confidence and peace as you redesign your life. We also help individuals who wish to overcome other issues including Anxiety, Eating Disorders and Depression.
Adolescent and Child Therapy – Therapy during or after parental separation can provide your child a safe place to come to terms with feelings of confusion, loss and anger, thus allowing them to separate from the parental conflict, resolve any tendency to blame themselves, curb acting out behaviors and move toward feelings of confidence and peace.
Support – Support is essential for children and adults when going through crisis or difficult life transitions. Family and friends are great support, but sometimes they too are experiencing the effects of the separation and may not be able to provide objective unconditional support. A psychologist knowledgeable of the divorce process can offer special sensitivity and skills to support clients through an experience that involves loss and a wide range of emotions.
Evaluation Services
Psychological Evaluations for the Court - Psychological evaluations are often requested by judges in divorce and other legal proceedings. The focus is often to assess for the presence of any psychological disorders. The evaluations may include clinical interviewing, review of records, observations, collateral interviews, testing, and interpretation and report preparation.
Child Custody Evaluations- The primary consideration in a child custody evaluation is to assess the individual and family factors that affect the best psychological interests of the child. This involves an assessment of the adults' capacities for parenting, of the psychological functioning and developmental needs of each child, and of the ability of each parent to meet these needs. LCS provides court ordered psychological/mental health evaluations and child custody evaluations; as well as evaluations for clinical and treatment needs.
Lewis Consulting Services, PA
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