Professional Speaker Dr. LeeAnne Del Rio is an author, divorce consultant, grant coordinator, and a professor of Sociology, Psychology, Education, and Research for the past ten years for several colleges and universities in California. As a trained speaker and conference presenter, Dr. Del Rio speaks on a variety of topics including: The New Divorce: A Loving Divorce, Communicating Throughout Emotional Conflicts, and Making Joint Custody Work for You and the Children. Hand-outs, training materials, and other resources will be customized to reflect the needs of your audience and the intent of the gathering. Dr. Del Rio travels from the central coast of California. Presentation Topics: The New Divorce: A Loving Divorce Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes. - Henry Kaiser Families can evolve and change without stripping the children of their security or the past spouses of their dignity. There are strategies that enable us to be conscious of our children’s needs while restructuring the family. Divorce happens. Studies show that between 50% and 70% of all marriages, in the United States, ends in divorce (Michele Lowrance, Summer 2009 (50%); Lydia Saad, May 2008 (70%); New York Times, April 19, 2005 (60%); www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf, retrieved, July 2009). One false perception of divorce is that it involves arguing, anger, and a complete break-down of the family structure. The reality is actually quite different. Divorce, like many other transitions, can be achieved with sensitivity, collaboration, and love. It’s not easy, but using the children’s best interest as the filter that proceeds every co-parenting decision helps guide the path to a Loving Divorce. In this presentation the audience will learn: How to Make Ethical Child-Centered Choices Creating A Fair and Perfect Vision Effective and Efficient Communication Communication Wisdom Steps to Admitting Regrets and Poor Choices How to Create Boundaries, Common Grounds, and Ground Rules Building a Support System, Small Steps, Staying Silent Strategies to Cope with Anger, Disillusion, and Change The Roles of Girlfriends, Boyfriends, and Step Parents Communicating Through Emotional Conflict By compassion we make others’ misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also. - Thomas Browne Effective and Efficient Communication (E2 Communication) involves having focused communication that ignores the internal pulls to argue or draw on past issues and instead defines each conversation with clear objectives and goals. Effective communication stays on the point, states clear observations, veers away from evaluative statements that usually cause an argument to erupt, and uses dialog to have needs met and requests heard. Efficient communication uses time and energy wisely. During efficient dialogs small comments that stir emotions and distract from the goal of the conversation are ignored and keywords or requests are repeated for clarity and re-focus. Communicating with purpose and staying focused Protecting the dialog and to prevent ineffective and inefficient communication Differentiating between evaluation and observation Learning to identify and express feelings and their ties to your past Learning to share and identify needs Requesting communication that produces results Making Joint Custody Work for You and the Children I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. - John F. Kennedy The most common source of arguments among divorced parents is differing perspectives on what is best for the children and what schedule meets every member of the family’s needs. Too often, we get so caught-up in being right, getting our way, doing things they way our parents did them, or nit-picking over the “small stuff”(Dr. Richard Carlson), that we lose sight of the physical and emotional well-being of ourselves and our children. In this presentation, the exploration of basic rules and general ideas for determining what is truly in the best interest of the newly constructed family, and children while emphasizing scheduling, boundaries, and the positive aspects of divorce. In this presentation the audience will learn: Basic Dos and Don’ts with the children Determining factors of fairness Scheduling options and ideas The creation of boundaries Positive aspects of divorce Speaker Fee: Please email dr.delrio@thelovingdivorce.com for current rates as they change due to traveling arrangements, size of venue, and speaking time. A 25% deposit and signed contract are required to reserve the date with the balance due on the day of the event, before the presentation begins. Special considerations may be contracted for nonprofit organizations.