“Coaching” is a fast growing field of practice in family dispute resolution. Families may seek coaching together (i.e., neutral coaching) or separately (individual coaching). Coaching is a process of facilitating informational, motivational, emotion and process options for families. Coaching is expert-based, and many coaches also have interest-based training (such as mediation and/or collaborative practice training). In the separation/divorce context, coaching covers a range of topics including parenting, financial, and property issues.
“Consulting” is an area of high expertise which may be applied to benefit both separating/divorcing families and the family dispute resolution process. “Early Neutral Consultation” is an intake process to help separating couples stay out-of-court and is based on neutral information, guidance and family advocacy. Coaching and Family Consultation may be undertaken by a range of professional experts including parenting experts, financial experts, and legal experts.
Parenting Coaching
Family counsellors and social workers who help parents who want to know how to inform their children about the separation, and to gain a better understanding of how children of different ages react to separation and divorce so that they can help them through the separation process. Parenting coaches assist parents who wish to help children cope with separation and divorce, to learn how to co-parent well, and to ensure children receive good quality and consistent parenting in both households. Parenting coaches may assist one or both parents, often work as neutral professionals together with both parents, and often work in the out-of-court context.
Divorce Coaching
Family Counsellors and social workers who help separating couples restructure communication, work co-operatively in a co-parenting relationship and ensure that prolonged conflict does not negatively impact each other or their children. Divorce coaches assist couples cope with different emotions and stages of grief at the time of separation and divorce. Divorce coaches may assist one or both spouses, often work as neutral professionals together with both spouses, and often work in the out-of-court context.
Parenting and divorce coaching are often complimentary processes.
Financial Coaching
Financial professionals who help separating couples communicate about property and finances, and help couples arrive at decisions about their property and finances. Financial coaches may work closely with lawyers to assist couples organize and understand financial disclosure in the separation/divorce context. Experienced financial coaches may also work closely with parenting and divorce coaches, to assist couples cope with different emotions and stages of grief at the time of separation and divorce. Financial coaches may assist one or both parents/spouses, often work as neutral professionals together with both parents/spouses, and often work in the out-of-court context.
Many coaches and consultants are also trained mediators and/or collaborative professionals with experience in mediating parenting plans for children, or property and financial plans for separating/divorcing couples.
Early Neutral Consultation (ENC)
Early Neutral Consultation is an intake process for separating/divorcing families and family dispute resolution professionals based on principles of neutrality, information, consent and empowerment. The process of ENC is facilitative. It is primarily used to assist couples together to get on the right pathway to stay out-of-court. Family Consultants (FCs) who are experts in their fields of practice (often trained in mediation and/or collaborative skill set) working neutrally with both parents/spouses together to provide a single consultation session of information and hypotheticals only. No opinions are given. Family Consultants assist parents/spouses who wish to learn about reasonable ranges of options for the law relating to parenting, property and/or financial matters, reasonable ranges of options for consensual dispute resolution processes, and contacts to family dispute resolution professionals who may assist with resolving the dispute out-of-court.
Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)
Early Neutral Evaluation is an intake process used most often in-court to assist families with early resolution of their dispute. The process is facilitative and evaluative. Dispute Resolutions Officers (DROs) are senior lawyers working neutrally with both parents/spouses together to provide a reasonable range of options, and provide well-informed neutral opinions, to help resolve family disputes. The outcome of an Early Neutral Evaluation is often a Minute of Settlement on Consent (often with the assistance of lawyers, or duty counsel, or for self-represented parties) and/or information and guidance with understanding the court process and progressing to the next step for the in-court process. The process of Early Neutral Evaluation may also be used out-of-court.
Definitions by Dr Brett, Founder and President, Family Law Pathways Centre (Canada)