Child Specialist - Collaborative Divorce

Child Specialist Services in Collaborative Divorce - Mary Rose Dewald, LICSW

As a Child Specialist, I offer neutral, developmentally-informed support to children and families navigating the collaborative divorce process. This role is distinct from traditional therapy. In my capacity as a Child Specialist, I do not provide mental health treatment or diagnose mental health conditions. Instead, I work as part of a collaborative legal team to ensure that children’s voices, needs, and developmental stages are thoughtfully considered as parents work toward co-parenting solutions.

My role includes:

• Meeting with children in a supportive, age-appropriate manner to gather their perspectives.

• Helping parents understand their children's experiences and developmental needs during family restructuring.

• Providing input to the collaborative team to support child-focused parenting plans.
  
  

Important Notes:

• This is not a therapy service and is not billable to insurance.

• I cannot serve as a Child Specialist for families with whom I have an existing or prior therapy relationship, due to ethical boundaries and role clarity.

• My standard fee for this service is $200/hour. A sliding scale down to $100/hour may be available based on family need.
  
  

With extensive experience supporting children and families across a variety of settings - legal-adjacent, clinical, educational, and community - I bring a compassionate, strengths-based approach to this work. I am deeply committed to supporting children's emotional well-being and helping families make thoughtful, child-centered decisions during times of transition.