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. Lewis Consulting Services is committed to facilitating the most amicable and peaceful divorce process possible. Our therapists use their expertise in family dynamics, child development, divorce process and conflict resolution to promote a cooperative and healthy divorce experience for all family members. We offer many services to help the family emerge from the pain, focus on the solutions and turn uncertainty into new possibilities.
Parenting Coordination – This helps parents develop or follow post-divorce 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 settlements are encouraged. Theresa Lewis, Ph.D. is a psychologist certified as a Parenting Coordinator in North Carolina. As a parenting coordinator, Dr. Lewis facilitates healthy parent/child relationships, educates parents about the developmental needs of children, empowers parents to resolve conflict and when needed, makes decisions on issues not directly addressed by the custody order. For more information about parenting coordination services, call or ask your attorney to contact Dr. Lewis.
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. We assist parents and attorneys at differing levels of involvement depending on your needs. We help the family to set up a temporary schedule while the parents negotiate a more permanent plan. We also provide one-time consultations on parenting plan arrangements. This consultation works well for parents who agree on most of the terms worked out with each other or with their attorneys, but would like expert input regarding their children’s developmental needs. Further, we develop and help negotiate the parenting agreement collaboratively with parents. To that end, we meet with the parents and sometimes the child(ren) to create an arrangement that is sensitive to the needs and adjustment of children and the effect of divorce on family relationships. Finally, we also offer psychological evaluations of parents who are involved in custody disputes.
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.
Separation/Divorce Counseling for the Couple (focus on the children) - Divorce counseling is often recommended for people who have children and can be extremely helpful in developing effective parenting and co-parenting during and after the divorce. Research shows us 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. Divorce therapy focuses on helping parents strengthen their ability to communicate as co-parents and achieve the most successful family restructuring possible. This is also an opportunity to obtain agreement from each of you to commit to an amicable separation and divorce process. Divorce counseling usually takes place in two to four sessions.
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.
Feel free to call us at 919-302-8362 for more information. We will be glad to speak with you to help determine what services may be right for you and your family.
Lewis Consulting Services, PA
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