Doing justice to your child: a Dutch pilot intervention for parents in high-conflict divorces

This study examines the feasibility of a Dutch intervention for parents in high-conflict divorces. The intervention consisted of a high-intensity programme in which parents undergo a series of therapeutic interventions on five consecutive days. Data were collected from up to ten parents at three moments in time (prior to, immediately after, and about one year after the intervention). We showed that the intervention yielded high expectations with participating parents immediately after the intervention. One year after the intervention, however, these high expectations had not been consolidated into a perceived reduction of conflict. A comparison of pre- and post-intervention conflict levels, on the other hand, suggested a decrease in conflict as well as improvement in relationship quality, although these improvements were not as high as parents had anticipated directly after the intervention. Parents might be unaware of their progress due to unmet expectations. Practitioner points: This study offers evidence of promise for Doing Justice to Your Child, an intensive, mixed-intervention treatment programme for parents in high-conflict divorces Lawyers were also involved in the programme Parents in high-conflict divorces may be unable to see positive progress from this intervention themselves.

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