2025 Introductory Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Training
October 23 @ 8:00 am - October 28 @ 1:00 pm
$350.00 – $675.00Introductory Interdisciplinary
Collaborative Practice Training
4 half-days via Zoom
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Friday, October 24, 2025
Monday, October 27, 2025
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
8:00 am – 1:00 pm each day
Presented By Program Trainers:
Elizabeth S. Thayer, Ph.D.
Kim L. Duell, JD
Traci Provost, CDFA
Douglas I. Fishman, JD
This online collaborative divorce training introduces professionals to a process that enables couples to complete their divorce without ever stepping into a courthouse. Lawyers, licensed mental health professionals, and financial specialists work together as a team to help families reduce conflict, exchange financial data, and resolve legal issues. This training meets the minimum standards established by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). For those who have taken the 40-Hour Family Mediation Training, this is an excellent “next step” in obtaining the training necessary to meet the membership requirements of IACP and CCND. For those who have not taken the mediation training, this course may be taken first, followed by mediation training, which is offered in February 2026 and annually by CCND.
The collaborative model is a team-based approach to non-adversarial, interest-based divorce that is an effective alternative to mediation, arbitration and other dispute resolution options.
Training Topics will include:
- How to make the paradigm shift from a litigation model to a collaborative model
- The stages of a collaborative case
- The roles of each member of the professional team
- Ethical considerations for each of the professions
- The roadmap of a collaborative case
Participants will learn:
- The process and substantive skills for completing a collaborative case
- The basic components of interest based negotiations
- How to work effectively within the interdisciplinary team
- Strategies for dealing with impasse
- How to avoid common mistakes
- Basic assessment tools for determining the right process for clients.
- Highly interactive, with substantial role plays that mirror each step of a real collaborative matter—including a full 90-minute team meeting—to deepen practical understanding of the process.
Special Registration Notices
Early bird registration, through 7/23/2025
Member = $550
Non Member = $625
Reviewer= $350
Fees Starting 7/24/2025
Member = $600
Non Member = $675
Reviewer = $350
Registration closes 10/17/2025 at 5:00 p.m.
Please note that all CCND events are subject to change or cancellation. CCND reserves the right to cancel the Introductory Training if there are fewer than 12 registrants by 10/17/25. In the event of cancellation, registered participants will receive a full refund of any payments made. We will make every effort to notify attendees as soon as possible in the event of any changes or cancellations. Refund requests for any other reason will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be subject to administrative fees, however after 10/17/2025 no refunds will be issued for any reason. No late registrations after 10/17/2025 will be accepted.
Our Trainers
Elizabeth S. Thayer, PhD
Dr. Thayer is a licensed psychologist at Beacon Behavioral Services LLC, West Hartford, Ct. She is trained in mediation and collaborative divorce and has many years of interdisciplinary experience as a mental health collaborative divorce coach. She is a founder or the Collaborative Connection of Connecticut practice group and a Co-Chair of the International Association of Divorce Professionals Trainers Committee. She is co-founder of the PEACE Program, a parent counseling program for parents of divorce and the co-author of two publications: The Co-Parenting Survival Guide and Adult Children of Divorce.
Kim L. Duell, JD
Attorney Kim Duell has practiced family law for 38 years, constantly seeking better ways to support families going through divorce and separation. She has extensive training, practice and teaching experience in collaborative divorce, and mediation. For decades, Kim has advocated passionately for the children of divorce, as a GAL and AMC.
She is a member of two practice groups, Collaborative Divorce Lawyers Association of Greater Hartford and Collaborative Divorce Professionals.
Kim has presented at the Connecticut Bar Association and local bar association and practice group workshops on a variety of topics. Her goal is to shift the culture of family dissolution in Connecticut, and provide an array of options to clients and families with an emphasis on problem-solving and improving communication skills for all.
Attorney Duell’s law practice is in Manchester, Connecticut, where she brings her knowledge and love of peacemaking and mindfulness, to the world of Family Law.
Traci Provost, CDFA®
Since 2009, I have dedicated my professional life to providing divorce financial advice to clients I began the Second Saturday – What Spouses Need to Know About Divorce workshop in Southport where hundreds of attendees have learned how to deal with their legal, financial, and psychological challenges of divorce. While my focus is divorce financial planning (planning, investment needs, evaluating divorce settlement options), I often partner with other local professionals who provide legal and psychological resources, so that all aspects of your divorce process are being addressed.
As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ (CDFA), I have specialized training, professional resources, plus technology and tools to use on your behalf to accurately evaluate the financial aspects of your divorce and help you select the best course of action for your financial future. As the founder of Divorce Financial CARE™, I am proud to be known as a compassionate, knowledgeable financial expert who makes the numbers understandable and supports clients going through one of life’s most difficult experiences.
I have lived in Fairfield and have been a part of the community for 30 years. I’ve always been connected to the local area in many ways – owning a family apparel business (Fairway & Greene), working in the financial services industry, parenting our two sons through the public school system, supporting local sports, church, professional and social networks, and volunteering. My husband of 34 years, and I recently relocated to Shoreline East where I opened a second office in Madison, CT. I have 2 beautiful grandkids who call me ”Nisi” which salutes my American Indian Cherokee heritage.
Douglas I. Fishman, JD
Attorney Douglas I. Fishman has been refining his practice of family law for over twenty-five years. Doug brings a combination of experience, empathy, intelligence, and creativity to his clients, their issues, and their divorce process, and has focused his family-centered work on mediation and collaboration practice. Over the years, Doug has participated in extensive trainings both as a student as a teacher, and he is closely allied with other professionals, including mental health providers, accountants, and financial planners. Doug also maintains a niche adoption practice. Doug is a past-president of the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce (CCND), has served as the founding board member of the Connecticut branch of an international adoption agency, and continues to serve on several non-profit boards. He volunteers as a Special Master in the Hartford Superior Court, and as a mediator in the Families in Transition program at the Children’s Law Center of Connecticut, where he helps high-conflict couples resolve parenting issues.
Please note that all events are subject to change or cancellation. In the event of cancellation, and pursuant to any event-specific notices, registered participants will receive a full refund of any payments made. We will make every effort to notify attendees as soon as possible in the event of any changes or cancellations. Refund requests for any other reason will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be subject to administrative fees. No late registrations will be accepted.