Divorce and separation can be emotionally draining, exhausting and overwhelming, and it only gets more complicated when children are involved. Custody concerns can deepen the uncertainty, sadness and stress you feel during this already difficult time. Disagreements about parenting time, unresolved resentment between co-parents, or confusion around legal arrangements often lead to further conflict, long-term emotional strain on everyone involved. However, you do not need to face divorce, separation or custody concerns alone. Our therapists have extensive experience in helping parents, children and families work through and move forward from separation, divorce or custody concerns. We are here to support you every step of the way.

Understanding Custody Access Issues

Understanding custody and the legal system can be extremely challenging. Although we cannot help you directly through the legal process or system, we can support you in the background to ensure you are taking care of yourself, your children, and have access to the necessary resources and tools you may need to work through this time of transition and change. Custody access refers to the arrangement that determines how children split their time between parents following a separation or divorce. These arrangements can be informal or court-ordered, and while their goal is to serve the best interests of the child, the process can become highly contentious.

Common custody access issues include:

• Disagreements over parenting schedules
• Concerns about safety or parenting ability
• Inconsistent communication or missed hand-offs
• Children being placed in the middle of conflicts
• One parent feeling excluded from major decision

These issues can create and worsen conflicts, and can even create or worsen mental health conditions. Anxiety, depression, anger, overwhelm, can all be present and can further complicate communication and affect co-parenting relationships. Getting support from a therapist can help you navigate this unknown territory with confidence and hope, looking towards a better future for yourself and your children.

Signs Support Is Needed

There can be a few signs that you or your children need some extra support during this major life change.

In Parents

• Frequent arguments with your co-parent
• Resentment or emotional burnout
• Difficulty focusing at work or managing daily tasks
• Feeling like your rights as a parent are not respected
• Using your child to communicate or retaliate

In Children

• Sudden behavioral changes (withdrawal, aggression, clinginess)
• Refusing to visit one parent
• Decline in academic performance
• Physical symptoms like headaches or stomachaches
• Feeling like they have to “choose” a parent

If you have noticed any of these concerns within yourself, or your child, it is crucial to seek support. Our therapists can ensure you feel safe and comfortable, and work collaboratively with you to create a plan to overcome the strong emotions that may be present. They will work with you to create a plan so you can reach your goals, and ultimately mental well-being.

How Therapy Can Help

We understand that every individual and family's situation is unique. Therefore, you need support that is unique to you. Here at Wholesome, we strive to create a safe, supportive, caring and compassionate environment for you to be yourself. We tailor our approach to meet your unique needs and comfortability level, so that you get the support you want. Our therapists can help with custody access issues in a number of ways:

• Learning tools for respectful, clear communication
• Building emotional resilience during transitions
• Creating child-centered parenting agreements
• Managing stress, grief, and anger constructively
• Establishing consistent boundaries and expectations

We are here to be a happy medium for you. Our goal is not to take sides, but to support the well-being of everyone involved, especially the children. We help parents move away from adversarial dynamics and toward cooperation, even when full agreement isn’t possible. We have helped many different families in Edmonton and St. Albert reach a state of peace, calm and collaboration for co-parenting. We offer individual, family, parenting and co-parenting sessions in order to help with all changes in dynamic. We are here and happy to help!

Book Your Consultation Today

Ready to restore peace? We are ready to help. Our diverse and dedicated team are here to support you and help you reach your goals. Whether you want to come in individually, bring your children in, do family sessions, get parenting advice or to try sessions to help with co-parenting, we have an option for you. Contact our team today for more information or to book your first session at 50% off!