Abstract:

The present review descriptively introduced psychological interventions employed during divorce process to contribute to the development of effective mental health practices. As a life crisis, divorce might have negative impacts both on spouses and children. In recent years, the terms such as constructive and healthy divorce have also started to be underlined in the related literature. In fact, increasing divorce rates necessitate well-established post-divorce support programs. Hence, more information regarding psychological interventions during divorce process is needed to employ effective practices for affected families. Psychological post-divorce interventions usually aim to reduce the negative effects of the termination of the marriage and to support the family members in terms of functional coping skills. Such interventions might include the entire family, a subsystem (e.g., spouses, parents, siblings) or the affected individual alone. Psychological interventions during divorce process might also be delivered in the form of psychotherapy, mediation, or psychoeducational programs. In psychotherapy settings, cognitive-behavioral therapy, forgiveness therapy, and grief therapy can be employed depending on the nature and intensity of the problems. Accordingly, the principles, approaches, and stages of psychological interventions during divorce process were summarized in the current review. Particularly, lack of longitudinal and controlled studies in post-divorce interventions, inadequacy of training for conducting such programs, and contextual factors compromising the effectiveness were emphasized. The limitations of the current literature on psychological interventions during divorce process were also addressed and suggestions have been made for future research.

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