Navigating Emotional Currents in Collaborative Divorce

Kate Scharff, MSW is an individual, couple, and family psychotherapist with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is also a senior divorce consultant, mediator, parenting coordinator, and Collaborative Divorce practitioner. Ms. Scharff is a founder and principal of the Collaborative Practice Center of Greater Washington. She teaches internationally on divorce, psychodynamic psychotherapy, parenting, and alternate dispute resolution. She regularly conducts workshops and seminars for family law attorneys, mental health professionals, and multidisciplinary audiences. Ms. Scharff is the author of many journal articles and book chapters, and of the books Therapy Demystified: An Insider’s Guide to Getting the Right Help (Marlowe & Co., 2004) and (with Lisa Herrick) Navigating Emotional Currents in Collaborative Divorce: A Guide to Enlightened Team Practice (American Bar Association, 2010). Her pieces appear frequently in online and print media; she is a regular contributor to the Divorce section of The Huffington Post. Ms. Scharff maintains a private practice in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Maryland. Her website is www.katescharff.com Lisa Herrick, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and a founding member of the West Falls Psychotherapy Group in Falls Church, VA. She has worked with couples, families, and children for over 20 years in her clinical practice. She is a former President of the D.C. Academy of Collaborative Professionals (DCACP) and currently serves on their board. She is also a member of Collaborative Professionals of Northern Virginia (CPNV). Dr. Herrick has completed over 65 Collaborative cases on multidisciplinary teams and has worked as a Collaborative Coach and as a Child Specialist. She is a founding member of the Collaborative Practice Training Institute (CPTI) and offers trainings throughout the country in working with high conflict parents and in Collaborative practice. In August 2010, she opened, with several Collaborative colleagues, the Collaborative Practice Center of Greater Washington, a place where attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial experts can share office space and work together to advance Collaborative practice in the Washington, D.C., area.