Navigating Divorce, Custody & Conflict in the Legal System: A Clinician?s Guide to Protect Your Client, Protect Yourself

• •Explain the divorce process from start to finish (Prepare to help your clients determine their course of action)


• •Examine your state's divorce laws relating to child custody, child support, spousal support and asset allocation


• •Explore nontraditional options for obtaining a divorce: mediation, collaboration, cooperative divorce


• •Discuss different scenarios in which mental health providers might be involved in the divorce process


• •Address confidentiality issues related to subpoenas, testimony, and investigations


• •Identify when to call in the legal professional – and when the legal professional should call in the mental health provider. (Maximize your practice within the bounds of your professional competence)

For both client and practitioner, divorce can be an exhausting, emotionally draining process. The constantly changing laws, complex legal jargon and intricacies of the process itself create a landmine of potential hazards for treating clients who are contemplating divorce, going through the divorce process or dealing with the aftermath. With societal norms evolving more quickly than the laws that govern them, today's mental health practitioners can barely keep abreast of these changes, let alone help their clients smoothly navigate the process to a successful conclusion. While mental health providers are not lawyers and don't pretend to be, the reality is, that with more knowledge, practitioners are better armed to help clients determine their best course of action.

Leah Setzen, Esq., a seasoned trial attorney and family law partner, will educate you on this unfamiliar and sometimes scary area of law in a practical, no–nonsense way, using real–life examples and straightforward explanations. This course is a must for anyone who always wanted to know but was afraid to ask.