Parenting Coordination

Parenting coordination (PC) is a child-focused alternative dispute resolution process developed to assist divorced or divorcing parents in developing and/or implementing a Parenting Plan. PC can also be used to re-evaluate and change Parenting Plans as children reach different developmental stages and require different co-parenting strategies. Parenting Coordination is usually court-ordered after months, and sometimes years, of conflict between parents regarding the care and time sharing of their children. The earlier a Parenting Coordinator can be brought in to help resolve differences and reach compromise, the less serious the impact will be on the children. It is well established that children do suffer when parents divorce, most notably in their relationships with the parents and others. Successful PC intervention can mitigate the damaging impact by minimizing the conflicts.

Dr. Coughlin begins Parenting Coordination with a series of five (5) sessions. The first two sessions are individual sessions with each parent. The remaining sessions are joint sessions. An exception to this would occur in high conflict families when there is a domestic violence injunction; in that case, all sessions would be individual. The fees for the first five (5) sessions include establishing contact with other involved parties, phone consultations and the initial paperwork assessment. Although some cases may be resolved in five sessions, typically parents will continue in regular parenting coordination for several months.

Please note: Parenting Coordination does not carry the usual privacy and confidentiality constraints of psychotherapy; it is not therapy, it is an alternative dispute resolution process most akin to mediation. Decisions and agreements established in PC will be reported to individual attorneys and the courts. Contact may be made with other interested parties (e.g. teachers, doctors, children); in this event you will be notified and asked to sign a release to acknowledge your awareness of the communications being conducted to serve the best interests of your children.