A new therapeutic family justice program will benefit Island families experiencing separation or divorce.
New Ways for Families® is an innovative program that empowers parents with skills and strategies to manage high conflict situations. The free pilot program is available to Islanders by TM referral and complements existing supports offered at the Family Law Centre.
Referrals to the program will come from the Courts of Prince Edward Island, the Family Court Counsellors and the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. New Ways for Families will be delivered online or in-person to eligible Island families depending on their needs.
“More and more we are seeing people experiencing high conflict in many aspects of their lives, and New Ways can be part of the solution,” said Bill Eddy, Chief Innovation Officer of the High Conflict Institute. “It’s an exciting opportunity for us to share our expertise with Islanders. My team and I look forward to helping as many people in PEI as possible to develop more skills to help them work through difficult family situations.”
Participants of New Ways for Families will learn foundational skills known as the 4 Big Skills™ to help ensure their actions are based on managed emotions, moderate behaviours, flexible thinking and self-reflection. Parents can apply these skills to:
- help them make big decisions;
- reduce and/or avoid conflict;
- avoid and/or reduce alienation;
- reduce refusal and resistance;
- reduce violence; and
- reduce harm to the children
“The impacts on families going through separation and divorce can be significant, with long lasting effects to everyone involved. Empowering families, and their network of support, with the skills and knowledge to manage potential family conflict is incredibly important. That’s why I’m so proud that we are able to provide this program for free to Island families. The more therapeutic options we can provide to support the wellbeing of Islanders the better.”
- Justice and Public Safety Minister and Attorney General Bloyce Thompson
Training for the New Ways for Families program will also be offered to lawyers and other therapeutic providers, such as social workers, who work with families going through separation or divorce.
To learn more about New Ways for Families, contact the Family Law Centre at 902-368-6928.
Media contact:
Vicki Tse
Department of Justice and Public Safety
vickitse@gov.pe.ca