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| Laying the Foundation: Coping Successfully with Divorce | |
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| The Aftermath of Marriage | |
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| The Impact of Separation and Divorce | |
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| Preseparation | |
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| Transition-Restructuring | |
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| Recovery-Rebuilding | |
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| Is Divorce Worth It? The Verdict Is ... | |
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| Legal Fundamentals: What Everyone Should Know | |
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| A Primer on Current Divorce Trends | |
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| Selecting an Attorney | |
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| Marital Settlement Agreements | |
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| Litigation | |
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| Divorce Mediation: An Alternative to an Adversarial Divorce | |
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| Stress and the Emotional Roller Coaster: Tools to Cope | |
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| Coping with Stress | |
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| Dealing with Anxiety | |
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| Feeling like a Robot: Is There a Person in There? | |
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| Sadness and Grief: The Importance of Mourning | |
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| Thoughts about Your Ex: "Am I Going Crazy?" | |
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| Feelings of Rejection, Worthlessness, and Failure | |
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| Euphoria: Why Can't It Always Be like This? | |
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| Feeling Defeated and Immobilized: How to Combat Depression | |
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| Taking Action | |
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| Doing a Tune-Up on Your Thinking | |
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| What Do I Do with All This Anger? | |
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| Where Does It All Come From? | |
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| When Anger Is Self-Defeating | |
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| How to Deal with Self-Defeating Anger and Let It Go | |
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| Dealing with "New" Anger Constructively | |
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| Children and Divorce | |
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| Divorce through a Child's Eyes | |
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| Children's Divorce Experience | |
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| Is It Better to Divorce When Children Are One Age versus Another? | |
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| How Long Are Children Likely to Experience Problems? | |
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| "Should We Stay Together for the Children's Sake?" | |
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| Critical Ingredients for Children's Adjustment | |
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| Parents' Prolonged Conflict versus Cooperation | |
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| Children's Relationships with Both Parents | |
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| The Quality of Parenting and Stability in the Primary Home or Homes | |
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| Amount of Additional Stress in Children's Lives | |
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| Social Support | |
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| Temperament and Predivorce Adjustment | |
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| Conflict! The Number One Predictor of Children's Poor Adjustment after Divorce | |
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| How Children Experience Conflict | |
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| The Many Faces of Conflict: The Trauma of Being Caught in the Middle | |
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| The Nightmare of Transitions | |
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| Conflict's Repercussions for Children | |
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| Surviving the Conflict | |
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| Custody Battles: The Most Damaging of Postdivorce Conflicts | |
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| Fostering Children's Long-Term Adjustment: A Step-by-Step Guide | |
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| Starting Out Right | |
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| How to Create a Stable Home Life | |
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| How to Shore Up Your Relationship with Your Child | |
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| How to Become a Communication-Friendly Parent | |
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| Fostering Your Child's Relationship with the Other Parent | |
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| If the Other Parent Has Dropped Out | |
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| Limiting the Amount of Change in Children's Lives | |
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| Arranging Social Support for Children | |
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| Contain the Conflict! | |
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| Should You Seek Professional Help? | |
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| Divorce and the Steeling Effect | |
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| Rebuilding a Rewarding Single Life | |
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| Your Emotional Divorce: Stepping-Stone to a Rewarding New Life | |
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| Setting the Stage: Separation | |
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| Early Steps | |
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| Disengaging from Your Spouse | |
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| Dislodging Your Spouse from Your Mind | |
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| Your Account | |
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| Mourning and Rituals | |
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| Letting Go of Your Anger | |
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| The Power of Forgiveness | |
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| The Role of Social Support | |
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| Reinvolving Yourself | |
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| Final Resolution | |
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| Rebuilding | |
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| Rebuilding Self-Esteem | |
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| Overcoming Your Identity Crisis | |
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| Coping with the Lonely Times | |
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| Building a New Social Support Network | |
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| Opportunities for Personal Growth | |
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| Communicating with an Ex-Spouse: Ten Tools that Will Make the Difference | |
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| Use "I" Messages | |
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| Turn Complaints into Requests | |
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| Attack the Problem, Not the Person | |
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| Offer Suggestions, Not Solutions | |
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| Tune Up Your Listening Skills | |
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| Avoid Button-Pushing Language | |
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| Be Respectful | |
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| Use Disarming Tools | |
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| How to Keep Your Cool | |
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| Use Effective Negotiating Tools | |
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| New Romantic Relationships | |
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| Building a Strong Foundation | |
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| What If There Are Children? | |
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| How to Create a Successful One-Parent Home | |
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| Creating a Home in Which Your Children Can Thrive | |
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| Creating a Home in Which a Single Parent Can Thrive | |
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| The Consequences of Growing Up in a One-Parent Home:Facts or Myths? | |
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| The Parent without Custody: Dilemmas and Solutions | |
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| The "Visitation" Dilemma | |
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| The Important Role of the Nonresident Parent | |
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| Solutions for the "Visitation" Dilemma | |
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| Parenting at a Distance | |
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| Parenting Young Children at a Distance | |
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| The Myth of the Inconsequential Parent | |
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| Co-Parenting Children after Divorce | |
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| Custody: What's the Real Scoop? | |
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| Legal Custody versus Physical Custody | |
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| Physical Custody: Joint versus Sole Custody | |
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| Mother Custody versus Father Custody | |
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| Split Custody: Should Siblings Stay Together? | |
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| Parenting Plans: Blueprints for a Smooth Future | |
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| The Nuts and Bolts of a Parenting Plan | |
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| Selecting a Parenting Schedule Tailored to Your Family | |
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| Guidelines for Children's Developmental Needs | |
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| Making Co-Parenting Work | |
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| How to Build a Co-Parenting Relationship | |
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| Seven Keys to Sound Co-Parenting | |
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| Ending the Conflict: A Step-by-Step Approach | |
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| High-Conflict Parents: Could This Be You? | |
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| Steps to Protect Children from Conflict | |
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| Steps to End the Conflict | |
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| Extraordinary Steps for Extraordinary Conflict | |
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| A Wise Step: Co-Parenting Counseling | |
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| How to Discipline Effectively and Still Be a "Good Guy" | |
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| Different Parenting Styles and Their Repercussions | |
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| The Principles of Positive Parenting | |
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| Discipline and Teens | |
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| Your Relationship with Your Children: The Foundation of Effective Discipline | |
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| Stepfamilies | |
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| Stepfamily Myths versus Stepfamily Reality | |
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| Remarriage Is Often Just What Is Needed to Help People Get Back on Their Feet after Divorce | |
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| When We Get Married We Will Have an Instant Family | |
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| When We Get Married the Children Will Be Able to Have a Traditional Family | |
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| Well-Adjusted People Can Adapt to Stepfamily Life after a Brief Adjustment Period | |
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| Losing Strategies: Eight Common Paths to Serious Stepfamily Problems | |
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| Trying to Replace the Out-of-Home Parent | |
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| Creating a False Sense of Togetherness | |
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| Forced Blending | |
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| Dramatically Changing Parent-Child Relationships | |
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| Assuming Authority Too Quickly | |
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| Resisting Family Blending | |
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| Trying to Shut Out the Out-of-Home Parent from Children's Lives | |
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| Denying Problems and Conflicts | |
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| Learning What Works: Successful Strategies for Stepfamilies | |
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| Communicate Openly | |
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| Set Realistic Family Goals | |
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| Build a Strong Couple Relationship | |
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| Move Slowly; Do Not Push | |
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| Develop Your Own Unique Role with Your Stepchildren; Do Not Try to Replace Their Out-of-Home Parent | |
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| Let the Biological Parent Handle Discipline While the Stepparent Bonds with Stepchildren | |
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| Build a Family Identity | |
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| Do Not Try to Shut Out the Out-of-Home Parent or Force Loyalty | |
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| Overview and Appendixes | |
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| Closing Remarks | |
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| How to Make Changes in Your Life and Stick to Them | |
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| Learning a Deep Relaxation Technique | |
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| Sample Parenting Plans | |
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| Suggested Reading | |
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| Notes | |
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| Selected Sources | |
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| Index | |