Kathleen W. Shack

I help individuals recognize that the only way to find meaningful understanding and resolve matters with one another is to listen to the perspectives of the other, articulate one's own perspectives, and find a way to satisfy both. If you and your children are transitioning through divorce or are a newly blended family, I help family members heal while finding balance and harmony within the new family structure. I do this either in counseling or in my role as a Divorce Coach. Couples counseling is an area of specialty. I work with couples to help them understand how one another's perspectives, beliefs and life history play roles in the current relationship and assist them in finding a balance that creates harmony. I have many years of experience working with new couples, blended families and couples who have been together for over 20 years who are seeking assistance. Couples often get stuck repeating negative patterns. I help you break the negative cycles and build healthy ways of interacting and coping with issues so you are turning towards one another, creating shared meaning, respecting and valuing one another again. I have many years of experience working with new couples, blended families and couples who have been together for over 20 years who are seeking assistance. Focus areas include affair recovery, building trust, restoring respect and value for one another, creating shared meaning, and the art of compromise. With children, play therapy is used to help them resolve issues on their level. Families play an important role in children's healing processes. The interaction between children's problems and their families is always complex. Sometimes children develop problems as a way of signaling that there is something wrong in the family. Other times the entire family becomes distressed because the child's problems are so disruptive. In all cases, children and families heal faster when they work together. I am a Divorce Coach and Child Specialist in the Collaborative Divorce process as well as in traditionally litigated cases. I am trained to manage a wide variety of emotions and issues that arise during divorce. I help you anticipate and include your need to move forward while making the future of your children a top priority. I support your family's goals for a smoother transition to the next stage of your lives. As a Child Specialist, I provide insight into how your child is coping with divorce and offer options for parenting time and other logistics in your child's best interest. I can act as a spokesperson for children as they articulate their feelings/wishes directly to you. I work with parents to shift their thinking from "my time" with the child to the "child's time" so both parents understand that the child's needs are most essential. I also help parents shift away from financial issues with regard to the children, and focus on their developmental needs instead. I help design an age appropriate Parenting Plan that specifically addresses the defined needs of your child as he/she goes through the restructuring of the family. Divorce Mediation is a way to settle your divorce on your terms without fighting in court. Mediation saves time, money and stress by allowing spouses to resolve custody, parenting time, child support, property and debt disputes quickly and confidentially. I help couples find solutions that work better for their family than what a judge might order. Mediation agreements address concerns unique to each family, while both husband and wife are more likely to get what they want.