The DivorceATLAS

‘DivorceATLAS’ (© TNO) is a short intervention especially developed with and for divorced parents, to support parenting after divorce. Parents who divorce are no longer partners, but they still remain their children's co-parents.

This entails additional questions and uncertainties: How do the children experience the divorce? As a parent, how can you help them get used to the new situation? How do you take good care of yourself and your children? How does parenting after divorce work? And how do you communicate this to the other parent?

Many parents wrestle with such questions about shaping parenting after divorce. The DivorceATLAS training programme acts on this issue by providing information and support to them.

Training

The DivorceATLAS training programme was developed for parents who are divorced or are about to get divorced. DivorceATLAS is unique in that the intervention is available in two variants: (1) a group training programme (pdf) with two meetings of three hours each; and (2) an online training programme (pdf). The content of both options is the same, only the form is different. Also, parents who participate in one variant or the other use the same handbook as a reference.

The DivorceATLAS group meetings are interactive with the exchange of tips or experiences, animations, (videos of) role playing, and guided exercises. During the online training programme, as a parent you work at your own pace to increase the knowledge and skills that help shape parenting after the divorce. During the training, parents receive tips and information and watch short films by experts and other divorced parents. Actors also act out some recognisable scenes. The sections of the training end with quiz-like questions, with feedback on answers.

Important themes in DivorceATLAS are the effect of the divorce on your child, working together in parenting, staying in contact with the other parent, positive parenting, and good self-care.

TNO research

New ideas and impetus to get started

With a grant from ZonMw (2017-2019), TNO has researched the DivorceATLAS. Researchers followed 65 participants who completed DivorceATLAS online, and 141 participating parents from 25 DivorceATLAS groups. The evaluation demonstrated the enthusiasm of parents and group leaders for DivorceATLAS. ‘Support and recognition.’ ‘Clear information and examples. Experiences of other parents.’ ‘Wonderful programme. Connects well with the target group.’ Parents gave the training programme an average score of 7.5. They felt informed and supported. Parents said they were given tools to support their children.

A few quotes: ‘Understanding what happens to a child after a divorce, but also understanding my ex.’ ‘I liked being able to reflect on how we are doing things, and how I would like it to go. It's nice to get some guidance, a sort of roadmap to help think about it.’

The DivorceATLAS training programme had given parents new ideas and an impulse to start working on them!

Become a group leader

Do you also want to become a group leader and provide preventive support to divorced parents? You can! A few times a year, TNO and the Knowledge Centre for Child and Divorce organise qualification opportunities to become a DivorceATLAS trainer. The qualification to become a DivorceATLAS trainer consists of an initial qualification meeting and a follow-up meeting.

During the starting qualification meeting, the background and working method of DivorceATLAS are explained and participants practice with the different training components. Afterwards, everyone receives an initial qualification with which the first groups can be given. This initial qualification is converted into a trainer's licence on the follow-up day.

The next initial qualification days are scheduled for Thursday 6 October 2022 and Monday 6 December. Would you like to attend one of these events and support parents as a professional with DivorceATLAS? Save the date and sign up!

• Initial qualification for DivorceATLAS trainer 6 October 2022
• Initial qualification for DivorceATLAS trainer 6 December 2022

(SK Youth accreditation #SKJ207363 – 31.75 points)