The class starts with working with you, wherever you are.  Share your story. Get it out. Once you do that we start looking and Denial and Fear. These two topics are the foundation of divorce. We all experience them.

It is easy to blame the other person in a divorce. And yes, the other person probably did some terrible things. In this module we talk about how we approach life and how we can choose our response to our ex.

We all learn ways to get by in life. Sometimes these ways are helpful to us and sometimes they aren’t. But they are so second nature that we don’t realize we are doing them. By understanding how we have learned to get through life we get perspective on ourselves, others, and our relationship.

If you are confused, numb, having a hard time focusing, and generally not “yourself” you are grieving. Grief IS divorce. The definition is CONFLICTING FEELINGS caused by a change in a familiar pattern or behavior. So if there is any change in your life, there is some level of grief. In this course we teach you how to grieve. There is an art to it.

No one escapes anger in a divorce. You might be angry for your partner leaving you. You might be angry for your partner making it so bad that you had to leave. Our society doesn’t teach us how to be angry. The class teaches what is underneath anger, how to express anger appropriately, and most importantly how to get rid of it. 

This is the second half of the course where you start looking at your future instead of your past. We look at how you hide behind a mask. We all protect ourselves from being hurt by trying to be someone we are not. Once you see your shield you learn to lower it so that you can be happy again. 

Divorce destroys our self-esteem. We explore what makes up self-esteem and how to get it back.

When the person you loved is gone we all start to wonder what the future holds. Will I ever meet someone again? I don’t know how to do this, it’s been so long since I’ve dated. We hold your hand (pardon the pun) through the process in this class.

Most people lose their trust in a divorce. The lose trust in their ex, maybe even the entire gender of their ex (“I’ll never trust another man!”), and often, though it is hard to admit, ourselves. So we go through trust and deep, honest communication. When you can truly be yourself you don’t have to hide. 

When you have completed all of the previous steps you feel empowered. You have a better understanding of how life works. You understand yourself better. You can move forward in the world, confident and able to build the life you want.