Introductory Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Training

Presented by:

Kim L. Duell, Esq.
Lisa C. Gresham, CDFA
Elizabeth S. Thayer, Ph.D.

4 Half-days Online via ZOOM — CLE’s Available

8:30 am – 1:00 pm

Thursday, March 9, 2023
Friday, March 10, 2023
Monday, March 13, 2023
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Overview

As we continue to engage in a “virtual” and Hybrid court structure, our collaborative trainers have developed an online collaborative divorce training that introduces professionals to a process that enables couples to complete their divorce without ever stepping into a courthouse building. 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 that training, which is offered annually by CCND.

The collaborative model is a non-adversarial approach, interest based path to divorce that differs from mediation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution options.

Download the registration form if you prefer to register offline.

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.

This training offers a unique opportunity for a series of one-hour follow-up sessions with the trainers, which are included in the registration fee. The course is both challenging and rewarding for participants. it is highly interactive and includes opportunities to learn and practice new skills in small groups and role play exercises. Participants will expand their repertoire of services to offer future clients. They will meet allied professionals and colleagues and have valuable networking opportunities.

This training meets professional training requirements for membership in both CCND and IACP.

About the Presenters 

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 (www.collaborative-divorce.com) and Collaborative Divorce Professionals (collaborativedivorceprofessionals-ct.com) Kim has presented at the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) 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 during this difficult time. 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.

Lisa Gresham, CDFA® is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and founder of Equitable Divorce Solutions, LLC. As a financial professional, Ms. Gresham’s services include lifestyle and needs analysis, asset valuation, pension analysis and valuation, cash flow analysis and projected net worth and settlement negotiation and evaluation. She focuses on budgeting, evaluating tax and cash flow implications with possible settlement scenarios and short and long term projections in order to help her clients meet their financial needs. In her mediation practice and when acting as a financial neutral in a Collaborative Divorce, Ms. Gresham draws on her extensive interpersonal communication training and skills to help her clients identify their interests, moving away from positions, in order to find workable options for the family as a whole. Ms. Gresham is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, National Association of Divorce Professionals, Collaborative Professionals of Fairfield County, Divorce Solutions of Connecticut, Family Law Section of the American Bar Association and Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce, where she served on the Board of Directors for many years. In addition to her practice, Ms. Gresham is one of three partners of the CT Family Mediation Training Group, an organization providing divorce mediation training for attorneys, financial and mental health professionals.

Dr. Elizabeth S. Thayer is a licensed psychologist at Beacon Behavioral Services LLC, in West Hartford, Ct. She is trained in mediation and collaborative divorce and has over 20 years of interdisciplinary experience as a mediator and a mental health collaborative divorce coach. She is a past co-president of the Collaborative Divorce Group of Connecticut, a Co-Chair of the International Academy of Divorce Professionals (IACP) Trainers Group, and Co-chair of the Access to Collaborative Committee of IACP. She is a trainer in the Connecticut Collaborative Training Group and has trained numerous lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial professionals in Ct., across the USA and internationally. Dr. Thayer is also on the Board of the Children’s Law Center in Hartford, Ct. and The Copper Beech Institute in West Hartford, Ct. She is also a former Board member of CCND (Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce)and the Connecticut Board of Examiners in Psychology. Dr. Thayer has dedicated her work to help families divorce with respect and self-determination. She has developed a program of inclusion for Collaborative Divorce in Connecticut. This provides access out of the court system for any family regardless of income to divorce with dignity. Dr. Thayer believes that all families should have the opportunity to transition through divorce in a way that protects parents and children for the future. Dr. Thayer co-authored two books both published by New Harbinger: The Co-Parenting Survival Guide and Adult Children of Divorce.

Pricing

Register on or before 2/24/2023:

• CCND Member: $525
• CCND Non-Member: $595 (Fee includes a 2023 CCND membership)

Register from 2/25/23 to 3/2/23:

• CCND Member: $575
• CCND Non-Member: $650 (Fee includes a 2023 CCND membership.)

Reviewers: $250 (For those who have taken the Introductory Interdisciplinary Collaborative training in the past.)