Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Divorce is hard. It just is. Even an amicable divorce is a traumatic experience – and where conflict exists, that trauma is magnified. What “was” no longer “is”, and what tomorrow brings is uncertain and frightening – for both parties. So, then, what to do? Well, keeping in mind that no divorce is easy, there are a few tips than can help you move from a difficult past and present to a less difficult and frightening tomorrow. With that in mind, in 32 years of divorce work, and the speaker having gone through a divorce himself, there are tips to help you move from where you are, to where you may want to be collaboratively. If you have children, allow them to be free to love both their parents. Nothing is worse than submitting your children to a high conflict divorce between their parents and sending them a message that they are not free to love both their parents equally. This can be difficult and it can be tempting to want to “hold on to” your children, and fear separation from them – even for brief period