Divorce Counseling: A Tool for a Successful Post-Divorce Life – By Dr. Deborah Hecker, Psychotherapist Specializing in Divorce Counseling

Divorce Counseling: A Tool for a Successful Post-Divorce Life

Going through divorce alone certainly doesn’t provide any benefits, and trying to heal in isolation often prolongs the process and can increase depression and anxiety. People can and do handle divorce alone, but just as you wouldn’t undertake a cross-country road trip without GPS, divorce is a journey best undertaken with professional guidance. A divorce counselor helps you get reacquainted with yourself and decide what direction you want your life to take by:

* making pain and despair manageable
* acting as the voice of reason when nothing seems to make sense
* helping you properly grieve the loss of unfulfilled dreams
* showing you that you can survive the losses you are experiencing
* teaching you how and when to assert yourself and supporting you in those efforts
* helping you to accept your new status as a single person
* encouraging your efforts to deal with your new-found freedom
* helping you turn a situation you may see as a failure into an opportunity for growth
* giving you the tools to actively create the life you want
* providing a strong advocate who will challenge you to take responsibility for your happiness

Divorce is a complex life transition that deserves care and attention. Though divorce is common in the US, it feels anything but ordinary when it happens to you. Dissolving ties of security, habit, dependence and status is painful and difficult, but it is possible to create a successful post-divorce life. Divorce counseling can help you achieve this more fully and in a much shorter time frame.