POST-DIVORCE SITUATION: ASSISTANCE PRACTICES

ABSTRACT

The article deals with the essence of post-divorce situation. The main focus is on the psychosocial problems of families in post-divorce situations, as well as practices to help them overcome them. The author's definition of "post-divorce situation" was proposed.

Keywords: family, divorse, post-divorce situation, psychosocial problem

Problems of the family and family relationships have always been topical. The family plays a major role in the process of formation and development of the personality. Unfortunately, family well-being is increasingly threatened by various factors, one of which is divorce.

Divorce in the practice of family relations in modern society appears as a very common phenomenon that affects the life situations and psychological well-being of a large number of people. Thus, according to «Rosstat» in Russia in 2018 for 893039 marriages there are 583942 divorces. In 2019 there were 950167 marriages in the country, which is 57 thousand more than the year before, and the number of divorces is equal to 620730 - 37 thousand more than in 2018 [1].

Divorce, as the termination of the marital relationship, leads the person to the experience of stress, comparable, in its content and consequences, with the loss of a partner as a result of his death. For experience of loss in connection with divorce, separation of partners are characterized by the same stages as for experience of loss in connection with the death of a loved one. At the same time, there are also characteristic features of this process, expressed in the specificity of experiences, feelings and actions at each of the stages. The family in the situation of divorce faces a variety of problems and crises.

The post-divorce situation, which in its entirety affects the lives of former spouses, their family members, especially their children, their social environment and society as a whole, refers to the most important aspects of family functioning. In Russia today, there is still no research on identifying the problems of families in situations of divorce. The reason for this may be that professional socio-psychological assistance in the different stages of divorce has not until now been recognized as necessary by the Russian population.

A variety of problems are acquired by former spouses as a result of divorce. These include changes in the expectations and plans of family members, transformations in family structure, changes in family roles, and changes in the way material and legal problems are handled. Any of these issues can be a topic for a stand-alone unit in family assistance. It is worth noting that the greatest difficulties for spouses are social and psychological problems.

Prior to the post-divorce experience, the family experiences a pre-divorce situation and a divorce itself. During the pre-divorce stage, the spouses typically make repeated attempts at divorce. Also, the spouses experience a prolonged crisis, then the decision is made to legally dissolve the marriage.

Although divorce can take place with the consent of both spouses, this period can also be long and painful, there is a destabilization of the entire family system.

There are many causes for divorce. Causes of divorce refer to specific circumstances that destroy a couple's relationship. Many scientists have worked on the causes of divorce and today there are various classifications and directions of the causes of divorce.

Divorce has its stages and phases. Scientists put in the same line the stages of experiencing divorce with the stages of experiencing grief. It is worth noting that the process of breaking up a relationship may not be aimed at ending the relationship, but at transforming it.

A post-divorce situation occurs after the legal execution of a divorce, the main purpose of which is to stabilize the situation and achieve autonomy for both spouses in the new conditions of life. On this basis, we have proposed a definition of a post-divorce situation. A post-divorce situation is a period that occurs after the divorce is legally finalized, during which the family system is restructured and stabilized.

A family that is in a post-divorce situation is experiencing a number of negative difficulties, and not finding help from those around them is increasingly in need of social and psychological help. Professional help will help such a family significantly in overcoming the negative consequences. To carry out effective work in post-divorce situations, specialists need to observe the principles of assistance, as well as apply various forms, methods and approaches to work with families.

The practice of working with families in post-divorce situations has shown that psychotherapy is the least requested form. Also, remote forms of family assistance, such as helplines and online counseling can be implemented. Families in post-divorce situations need family mediation due to the fact that after divorce there are a number of contentious issues as well as unresolved conflicts, when the spouses cannot agree with each other independently and the intervention of a specialist is necessary.

We believe that the need to create additional conditions will help to solve the problems of families in post-divorce situations. As one of such directions, we have developed and are planning to test a social project of social-psychological service "Life after divorce: reloading". The developed social project will be directed to the development of practices of help in the post-divorce situation in the system of social assistance to families, as well as reduction of the number of social and psychological problems. Families will be offered interactive and counseling sessions. The work of the group "Life after Divorce: Reloading" will help to reduce the number of social and psychological problems, will promote awareness of the new social status "divorced" and acceptance of yourself in it; the establishment of an independent (individual for each) life style; will help to leave the crisis state in a shorter time with less emotional losses.

References:

1. Demography: Federal State Statistics Service. - URL: https://www.gks.ru/folder/12781 (accessed 04.05.2021).