Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Judge Warren Davis, a Georgia County Superior Court judge, visits the show to discuss how he views narcissistic co-parents and the tactics he uses to sanction them when their controlling behavior is out of control. Diane & Rick share a listener’s email with the judge to get his insights from the bench. For more information about the High Confl...
May 15, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick answer a listener’s question about co-parenting with someone she can’t stand. Is it possible to be a “good” co-parent when you have such negative feelings, or are the feelings simply part of the natural grief process? They also discuss her question about accessing the kids by phone while they are at the other parent’s home. Suppor...
May 08, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick address Gillia’s email about a complicated dilemma. Her ex-husband remarried a behavioral specialist, who now thinks she should take mom’s place with the special-needs daughter AND take dad’s place as mom’s co-parent! How do you deal with an overbearing step-parent, who doesn’t understand the boundaries of her role? Should you hol...
May 01, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE William emails to ask what to do when his 12-year-old consistently complains about having to go to mom’s house. Diane & Rick speculate on the many possibilities for the resistance, including the mother’s recent remarriage. They help the listener with skills to discern the truth and respond appropriately. Support the show >>>> CONTA...
Apr 24, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick address Anna’s voicemail questions regarding what her young daughter reports dad is saying about mom. Anna has chosen to journal the comments, rather than address them with her co-parent. Is there value in journaling or documenting? How should she respond to her daughter’s reports an teach her to set boundaries with dad? Support t...
Apr 17, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick tackle a difficult listener dilemma of a father refusing to engage with his two-year-old son. They discuss how to help a child when a parent is absent and what could be going on with a parent who is not interested in parenting. Support the show >>>> CONTACT US >>>> RATE THE SHOW >>>> VISIT OUR W...
Apr 10, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Sean writes in with a concern that his co-parent may flee to another country with his children. Diane & Rick discuss the importance of focusing on the present and what Sean can control. They offer tips on how to reduce anxiety by having a plan B. To find an attorney who specializes in international custody disputes in your area, contact the In...
Apr 03, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE A second voicemail from Lydia illuminates a common issue -- a child who acts one way at home, but quite differently on a phone call while at the other parent's home. What is really going on here? Diane and Rick discuss the phenomenon of the Chameleon Effect in children of divorce. Read more about the chameleon effect on children in the book, Betwe...
Mar 24, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Lydia from North Carolina calls in to ask what to do for her 10-year-old, who seems to be in distress about events happening at her other parent’s home. Diane & Rick unpack when it is appropriate to speak to the other parent about what a child is reporting or when it is best to maintain confidences. They also discuss four signposts to look for...
Mar 20, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick address an email from listener, Anthony, who feels powerless to improve his co-parent relationship. They discuss the importance of taking care of his own emotions so he doesn’t use his child as a sounding board. Diane questions why parents seem shocked that their co-parent is acting (after divorce) much like they did in marriage! ...
Mar 13, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick talk to expert and researcher Dr. Ben Garber about the necessity of family law professionals approaching family law litigation from a systems perspective, using a Sherlock Holmes method of elimination to understand the dynamics of each case. Dr. Garber’s website is at https://familylawconsulting.org/ The book (The Family Law Profe...
Mar 06, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane talks with Rick about her frustrations with how the court system often works against the high-conflict family in litigation. Too many cooks (professionals) in the kitchen (on the case) can prove to be a cure that is worse than the disease. Diane plugs the organization, Association of Family and Conciliation Court s (AFCC): www.AFCC net.org T...
Feb 27, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Tara emails a question about her co-parent, who she thinks spoils the children and is too permissive. What is the best parenting style in divorce? Will the kids reject you if they don’t like your style? Diane & Rick discuss four parenting styles and the importance of balance in all situations. Become a CPDilemmas patron and monetarily support ...
Feb 20, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Travis writes in and asks about the nuances of co-parenting an infant when he and the other parent were never married. Is co-parenting after divorce different than if you were never married? What does the research say about sharing time with very young children? Diane & Rick answer these and other questions about this sensitive topic. Social S...
Feb 13, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick unpack the risks and benefits of using social media in long-distance parenting, as well as what details should be included in a long-distance parenting plan. RESOURCES discussed on this episode: https://cnfc.org/wp-content/uploads/Family-Court-Review-2016-Stahl-Critical-Issues-in-Relocation-Cases-A-Custody-Evaluator-s-Response-to-...
Feb 06, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Tom emails a question about how to respond when his co-parent goes silent on a time-sensitive decision and how to react to the children, who seem to be using the same passive-aggressive techniques with him. Diane & Rick discuss how to resolve time-sensitive conflicts and talk to teenagers who are clearly stuck in the middle of the adult confli...
Jan 30, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE In this episode, Diane & Rick answer a question from a parenting coordinator about how to define a medical expense and an extracurricular activity, especially as it pertains to financial reimbursement from one co-parent to the other. What might seem simple to address when parents create a parenting plan can become very complicated if you are w...
Jan 23, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE David asks if he should ask the court for more time with his kids because of alienating behaviors he suspects their mom is encouraging. Diane & Rick discuss the risks of making an already insecure parent more insecure by further court action and how that may affect the children. They also provide advice about the importance of the non-custodia...
Jan 16, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick help a mom with a daughter who is angry at her because she had an affair on her dad. How much detail do kids need about their parents’ breakup? What value is the “truth” in these situations? Listen to a discussion about how children form their identities through what they believe about their parents and how to protect a child’s se...
Jan 09, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Emma from Atlanta thinks one of her co-parent’s decisions isn’t fair to their child, who is experiencing anxiety and nightmares. How much of it is connected to the dad’s decision, and what part does the co-parent conflict play? Diane & Rick unpack this complicated, but common, dilemma. Support the show >>>> CONTACT US >>>&...
Jan 02, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick respond to an email from Janelle who struggles to please her co-parent without being walked on, and at the same time is afraid to set boundaries for fear her ex and the court will see her as a "bad" co-parent. They discuss what kids really need the co-parent relationship to look like in order to be okay. For more info about the em...
Dec 26, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE This time of year presents unique challenges for co-parents that those who don't understand (like extended family members) struggle to grasp. Diane and Rick talk about how to manage the many issues and emotions co-parents face in planning a "happy" holiday season. Support the show >>>> CONTACT US >>>> RATE THE SHOW >>...
Dec 19, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Mark from Georgia emails that his co-parent refuses to allow him to have time with their two sons. Diane & Rick discuss practical solutions to help Mark work through this issue, but they also provide important emotional considerations for how to relate to the children in this difficult circumstance. Support the show >>>> CONTACT US...
Dec 12, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE In this episode, Diane talks candidly with Rick about the distinction between narcissitic personality disorder and narcissitic tendencies that we all may struggle with. They discuss how narcisstic abuse affects co-parents and their children and strategies to preserve a sense of self-worth when a narcissist is determined to destroy it to maintain t...
Dec 05, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE A listener in Vancouver shares a concern about his 4-year-old being encouraged to call his step-father "Dad" and wants to know if he should correct this or talk to his co-parent about teaching their child that he only has one "Dad." Diane and Rick discuss both sides of this issue and when to let it go and when it is appropriate to address it with ...
Nov 28, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick join Leh Meriwether and Todd Orston of Divorce Team Radio in a discussion about the benefits and risks of a 14-year-old making a custody decision. Although they specifically discuss a Georgia law regarding when a child can make a custody election, the mental health concepts discussed are applicable to all families. Support the sho...
Nov 21, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Alma poses a question about child safety and right of first refusal. Diane & Rick unpack the complexities of these issues and how to focus on keeping the child out of the middle and engaged with the trusted parent. Support the show >>>> CONTACT US >>>> RATE THE SHOW >>>> VISIT OUR WEBSITE CO-PARENT RESOURCES...
Nov 14, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick address a listener dilemma about sticking to the parenting plan or being flexible with weekend time. Blogger Bella Duncan ( www.akidwithtwohomes.com ) weighs in with how kids feel about living in a high-conflict parenting situation and advice about seeing things from the child’s point of view. Support the show >>>> CON...
Nov 07, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane & Rick answer listener Kathy’s question about access to grandchildren after divorce. She is frustrated that her ex daughter-in-law won’t be flexible about her time with the kids when the grandparents are in town. Rick & Diane suggest that even grandparents can respect the parenting plan and should educate themselves about co-parent c...
Oct 31, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Have a quick question to be explored on the show? Send us a text message! Include your email address if you would like a personal response. Click HERE Diane and Rick address Jared's dilemma with his co-parent regarding too many activities on his parenting time. He claims the other parent is purposely involving their child in activities on his weekends, and it's negatively affecting the time he has with his son. Should he let go and accept his child's busyness as part of childhood, or should he h...
Oct 24, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 14
