Nonprofit's Divorce Workshop in area Jan. 14, Has Helped Hundreds

Tools to help untie the knot of divorce

One participant leans in, pounding notes into a tablet computer; another’s hands deftly work knitting needles while she’s every bit attentive.

Both engage actively in this nonprofit workshop, “Divorce Matters – Next Step: Untying the Legal, Emotional and Financial Knot.” Because like any upheaval in life, everyone processes information or their emotions about divorce in a unique way.

The three-hour workshop will next be offered 9 a.m.-noon in Waltham on Jan. 14.

For 33 years, The Divorce Center has helped men and women get their bearings during — or even while just contemplating — the divorce process. It’s an organization of professionals in several specialty areas who care strongly enough about what they do to support this volunteer organization for people in divorce, and to attend professional enrichment events it offers. These disciplines include:

• Counselors
• Divorce Financial Analysts
• Mediators
• Attorneys
• Social Workers

“When you are facing the prospect of divorce, we recognize how daunting and overwhelming it is,” said Diane Pappas of Gloucester, the organization’s co-president. “Attending our Divorce Matters workshop gives people the critical information they need to make informed decisions, have peace of mind and feel more in control of their futures and in the outcome of their divorce."

Men and women attend as individuals, but after attending may recommend that their spouses gain access to the information covering:

• Legal issues: the particular landscape in Massachusetts
• Financial issues: questions of property, tax impacts and more
• Family and child issues: custody/parenting time, emotional and relationship questions
• Personal perspectives: finding the best mindset to approach one’s unique situation

Cost to learn from a team of professionals is $30 to cover materials and site expenses, and the team scrupulously covers a range of disciplines without promoting their own services.

The Divorce Center provides 3-hour Divorce Matters workshops in four locations, including bi-monthly Saturday-morning sessions in Waltham at the Mandel Center for the Humanities on the Brandeis University campus.

Participants overwhelmingly rate “Divorce Matters” sessions as three hours well spent, and leave with materials that keep guiding and reinforcing them through a complicated process that does not have to overwhelm.

For more information on “Divorce Matters” workshops and advance registration, visit http://thedivorcecenter.org/calendar-events/ and click on the workshop title that appears on the event date. More information about other TDC program topics and free membership for the public is available at www.TheDivorceCenter.org.