Coparenting

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It can be challenging enough raising children in a family, but coparenting or shared parenting can place further stress on parents.

After a separation or divorce, there is a range of emotional issues for the parties to deal with. When you share the parenting responsibilities of a child, these issues can be exacerbated, but nevertheless, they need to be worked through for the sake of everyone involved. Some coparents may not see eye-to-eye and find it difficult to agree how best to raise a child. Conflicts between coparents affect children and therefore need to be addressed in a safe and professional environment. Counselling from a psychologist can help specifically for coparenting or shared parenting.

Some of the areas where counselling can help coparents include:

  • Encouraging cooperation between coparents
  • Encouraging communication and flexibility
  • Learning to compromise, so that everyone feels that they have a voice and a say
  • Acting as a mediator in the process of coming to agreements
  • Learning how to talk about your coparent in a respectful way that does not harm your child
  • Dealing with the neglect of a coparent
  • Joint custody arrangements
  • Identifying and correcting behaviours where coparents place children in the middle of their issues
  • Helping a parent deal with the other parent moving on

It is central to the coparenting counselling process to remember that the well-being of the child is the most import thing. Children need a stable and calm environment and a key step towards achieving this is to develop a harmonious relationship between coparents.

With the right help, it is possible to create a coparenting relationship that works for the coparents and, most importantly, for the child.

Tips for successful coparenting:

  • Keep the channels of communication open
  • Focus on the best interests of the child
  • When communicating with a coparent, use clear, simple language that conveys the message clearly
  • Avoid getting emotional in correspondence
  • Learn to compromise
  • Never put the child in the role of go-between or messenger
  • Never express negative feelings toward the coparent to the child

To discuss coparenting with a fully qualified psychologist call The Three Seas Psychology Melbourne today. We have a range of professionals near you, across The Three Seas Melbourne locations, to assist with coparenting challenges.

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