Creating New Realities for the Newly Divorced: A Structural-Strategic Approach for Divorce Therapy with an Individual

Abstract

Not every divorcing client comes equipped with a family system that is willing to participate in divorce therapy. This paper emphasizes that a divorce therapist can still use a systemic approach with an individual who seeks help even without the luxury of the family's presence in-session. Case vignettes serve to illustrate how a clinician can create new and more productive realities for the newly divorced client during early therapy, mid-therapy, and late therapy. The structural-strategic orientation suggested culminates in a single case study which links theory and technique with actual practice.