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The Group Guide
Connecting people to community
Client and Family Education
What to know about

Divorce and Separation Support Groups

These groups bring together people navigating the end of a marriage or long-term partnership, offering peer community and, in some settings, structured psychoeducation for one of life's most destabilizing transitions. Divorce is among the most stressful life events adults face, tied to elevated depression, anxiety, and loneliness afterward. The losses are multiple and often simultaneous: the partner, daily routines, shared social networks, finances, housing, parenting roles, and the future the marriage was built around. Groups come in peer-led and professionally facilitated forms, including structured curricula like the 13-session DivorceCare program.

Who it's for, and who it's not

A fit for any adult wanting peer community through the transition.
Works alongside individual therapy and legal and financial counsel.
Significant depression or domestic violence may need individual care first.

What it's for

People at any stage: newly separated, mid-proceedings, or post-divorce.
For emotional adjustment, co-parenting, financial recovery, and dating again.
Some address the spiritual or religious dimensions of divorce.
What to expect
1Peer groups meet weekly or biweekly, 60 to 90 minutes, open format.
2DivorceCare runs 13 sessions with video and small-group discussion.
3Court co-parenting programs are usually a brief 4 to 8 hour requirement.

Structured group support helps with separation adjustment.

A controlled study found a structured separation-adjustment group improved wellbeing, social support, and adjustment versus waitlist.1
A meta-analysis found group peer support delivers social connection, hope, and coping through major life transitions.2
Making the most of it
New community, fast. Divorce often strips the social network you had.
Relief and grief coexist. Hearing others say it counters the shame.
Practical know-how. Peers share what the process and co-parenting really take.
Questions to ask before you join
1Is it open peer support or a structured curriculum (e.g. DivorceCare)?
2Is it faith-based or secular?
3Does it focus on emotional adjustment, co-parenting, or both?

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In crisis? Call or text 988 (US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 24/7).

The Group Guide is a directory, not a clinic. This handout is general education, not medical or mental health advice. Listings are written by group leaders and are not endorsements. Confirm details, cost, and fit with any group you contact. Sources on page 2.

The Group Guide
Connecting people to community
Client and Family Education

Sources

Divorce and Separation Support Groups · references keyed to the numbers on page 1.

1Vukalovich, D., & Caltabiano, N. The effectiveness of a community group intervention program on adjustment to separation and divorce. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage (2008), 48(3–4), 145–168.

2Lyons, N., Cooper, C., & Lloyd-Evans, B. A systematic review and meta-analysis of group peer support interventions for people experiencing mental health conditions. BMC Psychiatry (2021), 21(1), Article 315.

In crisis? Call or text 988 (US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 24/7).

The Group Guide is a directory, not a clinic. This handout is general education, not medical or mental health advice. Listings are written by group leaders and are not endorsements. Confirm details, cost, and fit with any group you contact.