Reunification therapy is not a legal term, nor is it a psychological term, but it is becoming more widely used in divorce cases. Reunification Therapy (RT) is a therapeutic intervention for separated families when the children find difficulty visiting with the noncustodial parent, but depending on the circumstances, the purpose and goals of reunification therapy vary.
The therapist identifies the factors contributing to the estrangement and by working on communication, trust and probing residual feelings contributing to the estrangement. RT may include an intake assessment of parents and children to develop an appropriate treatment plan and in-office treatment for all family members affected by alienation or high conflict divorce.
Reunification therapy comes into play in high conflict divorce cases where one parent is not seeing the child. The first step is to go to mediation and work an agreement out with the other parent and request reunification therapy in order to make contact with the child. The family court order appoints a qualified therapist who has knowledge and experience and can provide help for the child and the reunifying parent.
Reunification therapy requires a court order from the family court. The court order stipulates the expectations of cooperation by both parents, the court’s expectation of treatment goals and interventions, parameters for extended family involvement, provides discretion to the therapist to set arrangements for treatment, payment arrangements for the therapist, and other contingencies.