Our aim and principle is to support parents going through conflict, divorce or separation in order to prioritise to help them protect the emotional needs of their children.
My name is Claire Field, I am a Social Care Consultant and the Author of The Parenting Apart Programme. The reason to why I do what I do is through my own childhood lived experiences and to this day the feelings of desperation, unhappiness, scared and not knowing what is happening next whilst living in extreme high-levels of parental conflict, domestic violence and alcoholism. To say that this was horrendous is an understatement; there are no words that can describe what my sister and I felt and went through in our childhood.
Thankfully, we have made it through and absolutely committed and totally passionate to make a difference for children who could be experiencing family trauma/family breakdown and parental conflict – very scary times for children, hence why I totally believe: in order to protect and safeguard children, we have to help the parents with direct, hands-on support and guidance and at times strong advice and for them to be challenged with regards to their behaviour alongside the consequences this has on their children. This concludes why The Parenting Apart Programme evolved.
The Parenting Apart Programme brings parents together whenever, however possible to ensure that they have every opportunity to continue to be the best parents they possibly can even when separation has occurred. The support of the programme prioritises the voice and the emotional and mental well-being of children which helps parents change their mind-set from a high-conflicted personal relationship into a respectful parent working relationship.
The initial 4-week programme has been specifically designed to support parents in a very personal, bespoke way to ensure that they feel supported, heard and guided through significant change. The programme promotes that in order for the parents to be the best parents possible, then they need to lead by example even when things go wrong and accepting help and support is something to feel proud about. If we can help the parents, then we know their children will be fine.
