ON DEMAND: Working With Parental Conflict

This 1.5-hour CPD workshop explores parental conflict as a natural and often emotionally charged aspect of professional practice when working with parents, couples and families. Drawing on key theories of human development and relational life, the session examines the core dynamics of conflict and how it can manifest within couple, co-parenting and parent-child relationships. Participants will build confidence in recognising and responding to conflict in practice, gaining practical concepts, frameworks and tools to support effective intervention. The workshop introduces the Parenting Apart Programme’s unique methodological approach, offering practical guidance on helping families reduce conflict, strengthen cooperative communication and develop positive working relationships in the best interests of children, whether parents remain together or are navigating separation or divorce.

Participants will gain:

• An understanding of conflict as a natural and inevitable aspect of human relationships, informed by relevant theories of human development and relational life.
• Insight into the core components and dynamics of parental conflict, including how conflict manifests between couples, colleagues, and within parent–child relationships.
• Increased confidence in recognising and managing emotionally charged situations in practice, particularly when practitioners feel unsure how to intervene or proceed.
• Conceptual frameworks and practical tools for working effectively with conflictual relationships in professional settings.
• Familiarity with the Parenting Apart Programme’s unique methodological approach, which supports families to develop and maintain a positive working relationship, whether parents remain together, are in conflict, or are separating or divorcing.
• Practical guidance on supporting parents to prioritise cooperative communication and relational functioning in the best interests of children.

This workshop would be useful for:

• Family therapists and counsellors working with couples, parents, and children
• Social workers supporting families experiencing conflict, separation, or divorce
• Psychologists and psychotherapists involved in relational or family-focused work
• Mediators, particularly those working with separating or divorcing parents
• Parenting practitioners and family support workers delivering parenting or co-parenting programmes
• Child and adolescent mental health professionals (e.g. CAMHS practitioners)
• Domestic abuse and early intervention practitioners working with high-conflict family dynamics (where appropriate and safe)
• Youth workers engaging with families affected by ongoing parental conflict
• Health visitors and perinatal practitioners supporting families during transition or stress
• Educational professionals (such as pastoral staff, SENCOs, or school counsellors) working with children impacted by parental conflict
• Legal professionals (e.g. family law solicitors) seeking a relational understanding of parental conflict to inform practice
• Voluntary sector and third-sector practitioners supporting families in conflict or post-separation

Course fee is per person

Speaker: Claire Field – Director, Parenting Apart Ltd

Claire Field is the founder and Director of the Parenting Apart Programme, an early-intervention approach supporting parents to manage conflict, separation and divorce in ways that prioritise children’s wellbeing. She has extensive experience working directly with parental conflict, supporting families to understand conflict as a relational process and to develop more constructive ways of communicating and working together. Claire has developed a unique, child-centred methodology that helps practitioners and parents reduce conflict, improve co-parenting relationships and create safer emotional environments for children. She regularly delivers training and contributes to national discussions on improving outcomes for families outside the court system.