For years, Collaborative Practice has recognized the value of a dedicated divorce coaching role on the interdisciplinary team, but eligibility was largely limited to professionals licensed with a mental health background. Professionally trained divorce coaches were trusted by collaborative lawyers and supported families through the process every day, yet they couldn’t formally take a seat at the table.

In this episode, Tracy Callahan welcomes Dori Braddell, The Divorce Mentor and Director of Education and Development for Canada with Divorce Coaches Academy®, who recently became a Registered Collaborative Professional (Divorce Coach) in Edmonton. Dori is the first coach to enter Collaborative Practice through a new eligibility pathway that recognizes specialized divorce coaching education, including training through DCA®.

Dori shares what it was like to be “the unicorn in the room” as one of only four non-lawyers in her training cohorts, how the Edmonton Collaborative Practice board came to revise its eligibility requirements, and why divorce coaching and Collaborative Practice are natural partners.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it looked like to support Collaborative Divorce clients from behind the scenes, without formal recognition
• Why the divorce coaching role was historically tied to a mental health background, and how divorce coaching differs from therapy
• How Edmonton’s year-long process opened a new pathway without lowering standards
• What Dori observed as lawyers practiced interest-based negotiation and conflict-reducing communication
• The specific value a professionally trained divorce coach brings to an interdisciplinary team
• How professionally trained coaches can begin building relationships with collaborative communities in their own area

About Dori Braddell
Dori Braddell is a full-time professional divorce coach, known as The Divorce Mentor, and a Director of Education and Development for Canada with Divorce Coaches Academy®. She holds six professional divorce coaching credentials and educates and mentors divorce coaches across Canada. She is now a Registered Collaborative Professional (Divorce Coach) in Edmonton, Alberta.

Connect with Dori:
https://www.thedivorcementor.ca/about-me
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dori-braddell

Read Dori’s article: The Unicorn in the Room: A New Seat at the Collaborative Divorce Table https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/unicorn-room-new-seat-collaborative-divorce-table-dori-braddell-vd5uc/

Ready to build the skills behind this pathway?
The next ADRDC (ADR Divorce Coach) certification cohort with Divorce Coaches Academy® begins January 10, 2027. Learn more at https://www.divorcecoachesacademy.com/divorcecoach

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