Becoming a Collaborative Divorce MHP: Theory and Practice

Posted on Aug 12, 2015

A New Kind of Training for Collaboratively Trained Clinicians…

Kate Scharff, LCSW-C, LICSW, Course Director                  Beginning in October, 2015

Even for experienced clinicians, becoming a Collaborative Divorce professional is a major undertaking. Learning to apply concepts and techniques from the world of psychotherapy to a new multi-disciplinary, legal and outcome-focused process requires a profound and often destabilizing paradigm shift.  It also requires us to expand our knowledge base and skill set in ways we might not have imagined.  Multi-disciplinary Collaborative team trainings are crucial introductions to the practical and philosophical underpinnings of Collaborative Practice, but they are just the beginning.  Becoming a valued contributor at the Collaborative table requires an ongoing commitment to learning– on both the cognitive and emotional levels.

This series of eighteen three-hour classes is designed specifically for mental health professionals who have expanded their clinical practices to include Collaborative Divorce. But since Collaborative Practice is fundamentally a state of mind, participants will acquire knowledge, skills, and enhanced self-awareness that will apply across all areas of their life and work.  In recognition of the fact that participants’ practices will likely include non-Collaborative divorce-related cases, we will dedicate some of our case consultation time to discussing relevant material from other modalities (e.g. mediation, cooperative divorce, divorce coaching, parenting coordination/crafting parenting plans, and psychotherapy with individuals and families dealing with separation and divorce).

The program will be held at the Collaborative Practice Center of Greater Washington, in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, DC. But any clinician able to be with us one morning per month is welcome!

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PROGRAM, INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRICULUM AND COURSE DATES, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THEM BELOW OR CONTACT KATE: KATESCHARFF@KATESCHARFF.COM         (301-641-3211).

Collaborative Divorce Training for MHPs

Kate Scharff, LCSW-C, LICSW is a psychotherapist, mediator, parent coordinator, divorce consultant, and senior Collaborative practitioner/trainer with 25 years of clinical experience.  She is a Founder and Principal of the Collaborative Practice Center of Greater Washington, and maintains a practice there and in Bethesda, Maryland.  Kate has taught and published widely in the areas of psychotherapy, divorce, and Collaborative Practice, and is a founding member and Past President of the DC Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Her work appears regularly in such online publications as the Huffington Post, where she is a regular contributor.  She is the author of several articles and book chapters and of three books, including  Navigating Emotional Currents in Collaborative Divorce: A Guide to Enlightened Team Practice (ABA, 2010) and Mastering Crucial Moments in Separation and Divorce: A Multi-Disciplinary Guide to Excellence in Practice and Outcome (ABA,early 2016) – both co-authored with Lisa Herrick, PhD.. www.katescharff.com