Why do people arrange for supervised visitations? Sometimes it's because it is court-ordered and they have no choice. Sometimes they arrange for supervised visitations on their own because one parent doesn't trust the other parent with the safety of their child or children. How did couples get from being connected enough to one another to have a child together, and then sometimes shortly after the child is born or when the child is still very young, they can't stand one another and are arranging for supervised visitations?
I have been a professional family supervisor for over 5 years, facilitating supervised visitations in a wide variety of cases, mostly involving young children. Most of the cases involve parents who are antagonistic against one another, and where one or both parents are using the child to get back at the other parent. How did they come to prioritize their anger at one another over their love for the child? When they opted for supervised visitations (or it was ordered by the court), wasn't their love for the child or children their priority?
There is a multitude of helpful information on the Internet of what to expect during supervised visitations, who should get them, why and when they are needed, but is any of this information also helping parents understand their own anger and resentment and where it is truly coming from so they might, for the one to several hours of supervised visitation time, find themselves temporarily in a healthier psychological place for the benefit of their child or children?
Barbara Kelley
Professional Family Supervisor
www.potentialpossibilities.com
