Decision Counseling


(Scroll down for more information.)

Ria Severance, LMFT

Divorce Coach & Child Specialist

626-354-4334

eMAIL

MEET RIA

Sandy Pedram, LMFT & Esq. 

Divorce Coach

310-991-2111

eMAIL

MEET SANDY

Decision Counseling

On the fence about Divorce?

Typically, couples considering divorce have one partner “leaning out” of the relationship or feeling “done,” and one wanting repair and “leaning in.” All our licensed therapists are trained to offer Decision Counseling (DC), an adaptation of Bill Dougherty’s Discernment Counseling. DC does not aim to “fix” your relationship.

Instead, DC aims to help you gain clarity and confidence about your decision to:

  1. Maintain the Status Quo in your relationship,
  2. Embark on Intensive Couples Therapy with crystal clear goals for each partner, or
  3. Separate/Divorce.

Decision Counseling consists of 2-8, 1.5-2 hour sessions to understand what it would take for your relationship to work, and whether or not you are both willing to do what that requires.

As understanding of the issues and each partner’s responsibility emerge, couples are more equipped to make a clear, joint decision.  

Couples who decide on couples therapy engage that work in a much more focused, whole-hearted way. Those who decide to divorce find themselves being more “agreement ready,” as both have shared responsibility for the decision to divorce, with fewer long-standing and unspoken resentments coloring the process.