Parenting Plans
With a special interest in working with families going through a separation or divorce, I engage with them to achieve an outcome that can be peaceful and practical. Adopting a child-inclusive approach, I work with both parents and children to help facilitate separation and divorce arrangements. I am mindful of the fact that children of divorce have many concerns about this stressful transition; however their voices are often lost in the process. This is largely due to parents being caught up in their own emotions and conflicts that they often hijack the process of developing a plan to successfully meet the needs of their children post-divorce. Too often parents tend to focus on their own needs at the expense of their children’s needs. By including the children’s voice and listening to their needs, we jointly compile a parenting plan that includes and considers the best interests of the children. Throughout this process I guide and support parents to ensure that their children’s needs come first.
Dr Biva Naik offers psychotherapy to children, teenagers, adults, and couples, and medico-legal assessments.
Therapeutic Work
Divorce and separation can be a difficult time for a family. With such a stressful event, adults and children experience a range of painful and difficult emotions such as anger, guilt, confusion, grief, depression, shame, fear and anxiety. Therapy helps divorcing families cope with this transition which can be a mentally, physically and financially demanding process. A person who uses therapy to work through the difficulties of a divorce may benefit as they learn more about themselves and come to see this difficult transition as an opportunity for personal growth. Through therapy they may come to understand what they want and don’t want in a relationship, process their emotions more easily and better adjust to this stressful transition.
In the context of divorce, my therapeutic work includes working with adults who are going through or have been through a divorce and are experiencing difficulties coping with the loss and resulting changes. I also work with children who are struggling to come to terms with the divorce and adequately manage the related losses and changes. The therapy sessions can be important for children whose parents are divorcing.