
Supporting Families in Transition
This guide is designed for couples who are recently separated. It is intended to help individuals make an easy transition from living together to living apart by acknowledging that boundaries need to change as relationships change. It is also meant to be the basis for an ongoing dialogue between separated or divorcing couples as they define and adjust to their reconfigured relationship.
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People who have been sharing a household for some time develop habits and patterns based on that arrangement. When only one person is in the home formerly occupied by both, issues of privacy for the person who remains in the residence arise, while the person who moved out may feel displaced and separated from familiar surroundings and creature comforts. A period of adjustment is to be expected, during which time clear communication is critical. As difficult as these conversations may be, they are less difficult than the kinds of hurt feelings and unintended consequences that will likely be the result if they don’t occur.


