Providing Consultation & Direct Service
in the areas of Divorce and
Stepfamily Relationships

Families Divided

written and owned by Michele Diamond, LICSW, BCD

UPDATE: New Saturday Classes in Weston.
Families Divided, a court -approved parent education program for divorcing parents in MA, is now in both Weston on Saturday mornings & Watertown on Wednesday evenings. See below for class dates and registration information.

Families Divided™ is a parent education program for divorcing parents, which has been approved by the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Probate & Family Court and meets the mandate for education for parents filing for divorce.

A goal of Families Divided™ is to empower parents to recognize that they are the experts on their own children and that they will make the difference in how their children are impacted by the divorce. This philosophy, presented at the beginning of the 5 hours, helps to immediately put participants at ease and reduces resistance related to the mandate of being there. Once this is accomplished, group members are at ease to both listen to the content of the program and to share their own thoughts and experiences.

Families Divided™ is based on the very latest research on divorce. Part interactive, part lecture, it also makes use of an excellent video, "Children: The Experts on Divorce" which features children speaking from their own experience of going through a parent's divorce. The video was awarded 1995 "Best in Media" by Children's Rights Council in Washington, D. C.

The actual content of Families Divided™ includes all of the information required by the MA Probate Court plus more. There is a strong emphasis throughout the five hours on the necessity to reduce conflict between the divorcing parents. Several innovative and easy techniques are taught in order to help participants gain distance, both physical and emotional, from their spouse. A continuum from parallel parenting to co-parenting is demonstrated and explained to help parents recognize the parenting styles for divorced parents and understand where they are on the continuum now and where they might like to be in the future. Through the use of brainstorming, participants are encouraged to share their own conflictual situations and ways they have found to be helpful in dealing with them.

COURSE DATES & LOCATIONS

Courses are held in two locations: Weston and Watertown. Please see below for time and dates of each location.

WESTON COURSE LOCATION

Classes meet 2 Saturday mornings a month; 2 classes equal 1 complete session.
Time: 9:30 A. M to 12 noon
Location: First Parish Church, 349 Boston Post Rd, Weston.
(Click here for directions via google Maps)

2012 Course Dates

Jan. 21 & 28

Feb. 25 & March 3

April 7 & 14

May 12

June 16 & 23

* Call 508-358-7688 for more information about date & time

WATERTOWN COURSE LOCATION

Classes meet 2 Wednesday evenings a month; 2 classes equal 1 complete session.
Time: 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
Location: Watertown High School, 50 Columbia St. Watertown.
Parking: Ample free parking is available both on the street and in the school parking lot.
(Click here for directions via Google Maps)

2012 Course Dates

Jan. 11 & 18

Feb. 1 & 8

April 11& 25

May 23 & 30

June 6 & 13

REGISTRATION

You may register for Families Divided™ by mail or online.

By Mail:
Please click on one of the following links and print the registration form to mail to us.

Registration form (Microsoft Word format)

Registration form (PDF format)

Online:
Please complete the following form to submit your registration online (Note: you will still need to mail in your check following registration).

Registration Form

Month you are registering for:
Class Location:	Watertown Weston
Full Name:
Street Address:
City/Town:
State & Zip Code:
Daytime Phone:
Evening Phone:
Email Address:
Full Name of Other Parent:
City and State Where Other Parent Resides:

Comments / Questions / Other Info:

By submitting this registration, the participant agrees that neither DivorceStep, Michele Diamond or Jonathan Nathan shall have any liability for any injuries, property losses or any other damages incurred while participating in any facet of this program.
Please check and initial here:
I Agree to These Terms (check this box)
Initials (enter your initials)

For additional information regarding Families Divided™,
please contact michele@divorcestep.com, or Call 508-358-7688.