June Membership Meeting Write-Up — Steven Unruh, LMFT

Divorce Process Options:
Do You Know If and How Children's Needs
are Considered in These Options?

Presented by
Mary Ann Aronsohn, LMFT
Carrie Edwards-Chung, LCSW
Jami Fosgate, JD
Steven Garelick, CPA

Pasadena Divorce Options presented to our chapter on June 7, 2020. It was a well organized and highly informative seminar. The team that presented gave us a greater understanding of their scope of expertise when resolving a divorce through a collaborative manner.

When children are involved with a divorcing couple, it is important that a professional therapist is available to assess the needs of the children. In the seminar, Carrie demonstrated the need for children to be heard. It is not uncommon for a parent to demand a 50-50 percentage split, based upon one parent not wanting to pay more in child support. Unfortunately the focus is then on money rather than the specific needs of the children, as Carrie explained. Creating an appropriate parenting plan involves understanding the history of the relationship that these children have with their parents, their educational needs and their emotional development.

Working in a collaborative manner is a method of resolving disputes with a team of professionals in order to help the divorcing couple navigate the myriad of decisions involved in a divorce.

At Pasadena Divorce Options they have a team of professionals who communicate with each other about the specific needs of this divorcing couple, their emotional needs as well as their financial needs. Having a team of experts allows them to examine every aspect of their clients situation.

On their team is:

• a financial advisor who helps them sort through decisions involving their assets and debts
• an attorney who educates them about the consequences of their decisions
• a mediator who is supportive and guides the couple through their decisions and
• a child specialist who takes into consideration the needs of the children and their development
• There can also be individual counselors for each of the spouses.

We are extremely grateful for the excellent presentation and the degree of professionalism in their organization.

Steven Unruh, LMFT, is an Associate Professor at the Masters Program at Ryokan College in Los Angeles, CA and has 31 years of experience in the fields of Psychology and Family Counseling. He specializes in helping men struggling with depression, anger and intimacy issues, as well as divorce mediation in high-conflict couples.