033: Co-Parenting with Respect: Creative Approaches with Jill Reiter and Dr. Shelley Bresnick

When couples split up, animosity and resentment can fester, leaving children caught in the middle.

On this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista welcomes Jill Reiter and Dr. Shelley Bresnick to discuss their program, Co-Parenting with Respect, a 10-session curriculum that brings children’s voices to the forefront and delicately facilitates parents learning to be the best possible co-parents. Shelley is a clinical psychologist who has worked with Colorado’s court-involved families for decades as a parental responsibilities evaluator, co-parent educator, and parenting plan consultant. She is also a therapist, working with children, adolescents, couples, and families. Jill is a licensed clinical social worker who received much of her early training with psychiatrists in child, adolescent, and adult inpatient psychiatric units. She has years of experience working with disrupted family systems through the public and private sectors. Jill maintains a private practice in Colorado, specializing in child, adolescent, and family therapy, including parent-child contact problems and parent coaching.

Krista, Jill, and Shelley begin their discussion by exploring the providers’ backgrounds and how they decided to partner to develop Co-Parenting with Respect. Jill and Shelley explain how they screen co-parents for the program, the positive impact on children when parents overcome dysfunctional co-parenting dynamics, and how they implement child voice sessions. Jill and Shelley outline the Co-Parenting with Respect curriculum, explain what situations and families the curriculum best serves, how they teach parents to communicate together, and share a couple of their favorite success stories of families who completed the program. Finally, the family law bar and in particular litigation-focused attorneys need to know about their role in the divorce process and the impact litigation focus has in harming families and coparenting outcomes

Reframing the co-parenting dynamic is a critical piece of the puzzle following divorce. Shelley and Jill are teaching parents how to communicate and interact so their children can flourish for years to come with both parents.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Jill Reiter’s background in social work and discovery of a passion for work in the divorce and domestic relations realm
• Dr. Shelley Bresnick’s entry into divorce work after completing her Ph.D.
• The development of Jill and Dr. Bresnick’s Co-Parenting with Respect program
• How they screen co-parents for their program, and the impact that domestic violence can have on the screening
• Overcoming difficult co-parenting dynamics and the positive impact it can have on children
• The goal of Child Voice Sessions and what makes them unique.
• An outline of the Co-Parenting with Respect curriculum
• Teaching parents how to communicate together, focusing on the children, and the shift that occurs when parents learn these skills
• Jill and Shelley’s favorite family success stories from their program
• The family dynamics best suited for the Co-Parenting with Respect program
• Finding common ground with which parents can resonate and use to turn their relationship into a business-like relationship that is courteous and puts children first
• What attorneys need to know about their role in the divorce process and the impact litigation focus has in harming families and coparenting outcomes

 

Resources from this Episode

www.coparentingwithrespect.com

Jill Reiter, LCS