ABSTRACT
Three observations serve as points of departure for the present overview of interventions with divorcing families. First, demographic data clearly indicate that both children and adults from divorced families are two to three times as likely to receive psychological treatment as are members of married families (Howard et al., 1996; Zill, Morrison, & Coiro, 1993). Divorced family members are overrepresented in the treatment population in part because psychological disorders are more common among children and parents from divorced families. At the same time, resilience is the normative psychological outcome following divorce, and the proportion of children and parents who receive treatment exceeds the proportion with demonstrable psychological disorders (for a review, see Emery, 1998). Many members of divorced families likely seek treatment, not for a psychological disorder but for help in dealing with the subclinical distress caused by the family disruption (Laumann-Billings & Emery, 1998). Treatment also may be initiated for other reasons, such as a custody dispute. Regardless of how one interprets the data, however, epidemiogical evidence underscores the importance of research on psychological intervention in divorce from the perspective of service utilization if for no other reason.
