Programa de intervención "ruptura de pareja, no de familia" con familias inmersas en procesos de separación

Abstract

Bearing in mind that divorce, particularly when it involves children, is a traumatic experience, we have designed and developed a Family Counselling Programme to buffer the trauma of divorce both in children and in adults, as well as to train parents to fulfil their co-parental responsibilities, independently of judicial proceedings. In this study, we review the programme, entitled “Separation of Parents, not Family.” The aim for adults is to achieve the following goals: to overcome cognitive deficits; enhance parental communication and collaboration; reinforce parent-child communication; and improve disciplinary measures. Regarding children, our aims are: cognitive restructuring; to develop communication skills; and to minimize psycho-social dysfunctions related to the parents’ separation. The programme is based on a package of effective treatment strategies (v. gr., modelling, behavioural rehearsals, problem solving, role-playing) which are undertaken in 15 sessions for adults and 16 sessions for children, each session lasting between 90 and 120 minutes. Lastly, evaluation and feedback procedures, as well as follow-up are discussed in detail.