Free Resource
A Therapist’s Guide To Divorce
What every couples therapist, LMFT, LPC, and LCSW needs to know about guiding clients through separation.
16 Chapters
6 Therapeutic Modalities
10+ Referral Scripts
100% Free
Step-by-Step Guidance
16 Chapters 6 Therapeutic Modalities 10+ Referral Scripts 100% Free Step-by-Step Guidance
Divorce doesn’t stay contained. It follows your clients everywhere—into their grief, their nervous system, their parenting, their finances, and the legal process they don’t understand and often fear. This guide was written by two attorney-mediators—one of whom is a former practicing therapist—to give you what you were never taught: a clear clinical framework, practical legal literacy, and step-by-step guidance to navigate clients through this challenging period.
Built around the exact challenges therapists face when their clients enter divorce.
What You’ll Learn
Protect Your Therapeutic Progress
Understand how adversarial legal processes quietly erode the therapeutic alliance—and how to guide clients toward a structure that protects the work you’ve already done.
Understand your client’s legal options
Know the full landscape — mediation, collaborative divorce, hiring separate attorneys, self-representation — so you can explain each path clearly and make a referral you feel genuinely confident about.
Utilize the Right Modalities at the Right Phase
Access a practical library of approaches—including Discernment Counseling, Therapeutic Separation, Conscious Uncoupling, and Closure Therapy—each mapped to specific phases of the divorce journey.
Meet The Authors
And Co-Founders of Conscious Family Law and Mediation
Peter M. Fabish, J.D., M.A. is an attorney-mediator with a background in psychotherapy, giving him rare insight into both the legal and emotional realities of divorce. He co-authored The Collaborative Divorce Advantage and served as President of the Boulder Interdisciplinary Committee.
John C. Hoelle, J.D. is a collaboratively trained attorney-mediator, former documentary filmmaker, and author of Heal As You Go. He helps families navigate divorce with clarity, creativity, and a strong focus on protecting children and preserving dignity.
Peter Fabish
John Howell
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Complete 5-part, 100+ page guide
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Clinical tools and scripts you can use this week
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No obligation — yours to keep, always
Discover
what’s inside.
Five parts. Sixteen chapters. Everything you were never taught about divorce — in the language of your profession.
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The clinical case for divorce literacy, why process choice is the most important variable, and what you need to know about Colorado family law — without practicing it.
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Full divorce-specific assessment framework, attachment theory in divorce, grief and ambiguous loss, and Polyvagal Theory applied to the stressed divorcing client.
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Discernment Counseling for mixed-agenda couples, six sequenced clinical modalities from pre-decision through post-divorce closure, and working with children in divorcing families.
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The Conscious Divorce Clinical Collaboration Framework, ten clinical scripts, and the values-aligned referral checklist for evaluating any legal professional.
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Identity reconstruction, post-traumatic growth, special populations (gray divorce, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, DV), and a self-care model built specifically for therapists in this work.
In 2021, John and Peter made a commitment: every family they serve will move through a process built on values, not positions — one that protects children, honors dignity, and never, under any circumstances, puts the therapeutic relationship at risk. This guide is the invitation to build that process together.
How we partner with therapists
Your clients don't stop being your clients when they enter the legal process. Our mediation ensures the work you've done together keeps moving forward.
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We're a resource for you, not just for your clients. If you have a client navigating separation and you're unsure how to explain their legal or financial options, call us. We can walk you through how the process works, help you understand what your client is facing, and give you the language to explain their choices clearly and confidently. If your client is ready for support, we can step in directly. Either way, you don't have to figure this out alone.
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Nothing. We're genuinely happy to talk with any therapist about a client situation — explaining how the legal process works, what options exist, and how best to support someone through this transition. There's no charge, no referral arrangement, and no obligation. If your client decides they'd like our help, they can reach out to us directly from there.
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Significantly less than the alternative. CFL mediations typically cost a fraction of what a contested divorce runs — the CFL website describes it as roughly one-tenth the cost of hiring two separate attorneys. Most families resolve their case in a matter of months rather than years, which means less time in crisis and less money spent getting there. For the exact current fee structure, your client can get full details on their free 30-minute intro call with no commitment required.
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Yes, and we welcome it. With a signed Release of Information, we coordinate directly with you — sharing milestone updates and adjusting our approach based on what you know about your client's emotional patterns or trauma history. Your clinical insight makes our legal process more effective. Our structure makes your therapeutic work more durable.
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No. Because CFL operates entirely outside of court, there are no subpoenas, no depositions, no discovery. Your session notes stay where they belong — in the room. We also lead with emotional acknowledgment before introducing difficult legal concepts, so your clients arrive regulated, not reactive.
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That's you and your client’s call to make, and we respect it completely. We're happy to serve as an information resource — for you or for them — with no pressure to engage. Many therapists find it useful to refer clients to our free intro call simply so they understand what a conscious process looks like before deciding anything.
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Our New Chapter groups — led by experienced therapists — offer a structured bridge between legal conclusion and continued healing. They're designed as a complement to individual therapy, not a replacement for it, and a natural next step for clients ready to move from survival into reconstruction.
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A warm introduction by email is enough. Share our contact information, connect us by email, or encourage your client to schedule a free 30-minute intro call — no commitment, no pressure, no legal jargon. With a Release of Information in place, we'll keep you in the loop from there.
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Every CFL case opens with an Intention Session — not positions, not demands, but values. Both spouses name what matters most before a single legal term is negotiated. It directly reinforces the values-based work you may already be doing, and keeps the process grounded when emotions run high.