Carol Hughes
Laguna Hills, California 92653
United States
Profession(s)
Mental Health Professional, MediatorI am a California licensed marriage, family and child therapist in private practice since 1983, specializing in divorce related issues and blended families. In 2003, l was a co-founder of Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County (CDSOC), an interdisciplinary practice group of collaborative divorce professionals, and I have served on CDSOC's Board of Directors in numerous Training and Education capacities and as past President. My various roles in Collaborative Divorce and Team Co-mediation are Collaborative Divorce Coach, Child and Coparenting Specialist, and Team/Case Manager. My advanced training includes Collaborative Divorce Interdisciplinary Team Practice, family mediation, interest-based negotiation, developmental issues of children of divorce, domestic violence, trauma recovery, chemical dependency and eating disorders.
For ten years, as an adjunct professor of Human Services at Saddleback College I trained prospective counselors, therapists, and others pursuing professions in human services. I have served as a custody evaluator and court appointed family, individual, and coparenting therapist for the Orange County Superior Court, addressing children’s needs in family court disputes. I have served as a member of the Professional Development Committee of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), on the Board of Directors of Collaborative Practice of California (CP Cal), the Professional Outreach Committee, and the CP Cal Annual Conference Program Committee. In 2011, CP Cal honored me with the Eureka Award that recognizes those who have made significant contributions and demonstrated an abiding dedication to establishing and sustaining Collaborative Practice in California.
In 2009, I was a cofounder of the Collaborative Divorce Education Institute (CDEI), a non-profit organization whose mission was to provide excellent training for collaborative professionals and education for the public about peaceful and respectful solutions for families who are restructuring before, during and after the divorce process. I served on CDEI's Leadership Team and as a lead CDEI trainer, presenting numerous Collaborative Divorce and Team Co-mediation trainings to professionals at the annual conferences of CP Cal, IACP, and other professional conferences.
In addition to publishing numerous divorce-related articles that are available on my family-focused divorce website www.DivorcePeacemaking.com, I authored a chapter titled "The Role of the Child Specialist" in the book Divorce Puzzle, Connecting the Pieces Collaboratively, published in 2017 by Open Palm Press, and I co-authored the book Home Will Never Be the Same Again: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce, published in June 2020, by Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Company.
Professional Activities
- International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) member (2003 - present) ~IACP Professional Development Committee (2011-2013) ~Collaborative Practice California Board Member (2011-2013) Collaborative Practice California Foundation Board of Directors (2020-present) ~Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County (CDSOC) member (2003 - present) ~CDSOC founding member (2003) ~CDSOC Training and Education Committee Member (2007-2020) ~CDSOC Chair of Training and Education (2008-2009; 2011-2012; 2020 -2021) ~CDSOC Vice President, Board of Directors (2009-2010; 2012-2013) - CDSOC President, Board of Directors (2014 - 2015) ~Collaborative Divorce Team Training Train the Trainers Program (2010) - Associate Instructor of Human Services at Saddleback College (1988 - 1998) ~Co-founder of the Collaborative Divorce Education Institute (2010) - Collaborative Divorce Education Institute - Trainer and Leadership Team Member (2010 - 2020) ~California Association of Marriage and Family and Therapists ~EMDR International Association ~Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association ~Institute of Noetic SciencesUndergraduate Education
University of Colorado, Boulder, Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate
Postgraduate Education
Two time Fulbright Scholar, Goethe Institute, West Germany;
University of Colorado, Boulder, Germanic Languages and Literature, Masters Degree Program;
University of California, Irvine, Interdisciplinary Studies;
California State University, Fullerton, With Highest Honors, Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology;
California State University, Fullerton, Educational Psychology Studies
California Coast University, With Highest Honors, PhD in Clinical Psychology
Professional Education
See above and Collaborative Practice Training below
Adult Children of Alcoholics: A Path to Healing;
Sexual Assault Hotline Training (for staff)
Dysfunctional Families Issues & Dynamics (training for professional therapists)
Eating Disorders: Types and the Path to Recovery;
Adult Children of Alcoholics; How to Be the Best Parent Possible
How to Have Difficult Conversations;
What The Child Specialist Does;
How to Have Difficult Conversations;
Her Brain - His Brain: A Practical Approach to Emotional Issues in Collaborative Practice;
Working As An Integrated Team Toward Agreement Readiness;
Full Team Interdisciplinary Collaborative Divorce Practice, An Overview: Basic Understanding of Protocols, Roles of Professionals and Ethical Concerns; How To Recognize and Remedy Positioning of the Client by a Professional Team Member;
The Power of Peacemaking Circles; The Challenges of Expectations, Trust & Fairness in the Collaborative Process; Skill Building for the Advanced Practitioner - What I Learned at the 2014 IACP Educational Forum;
Collaborative Divorce: A New Paradigm for Resolving Disputes Respectfully;
The Child Specialist - Value Added To Collaborative Divorce Teams;
How the Financial Specialist Helps Bring Clients to Agreement Readiness
How Full Integrated Teams Bring Clients to Agreement Readiness
- What Does the Child Specialist Do '06 - I was trainer
- Her Brain - His Brain:A Practical Approach to Emotional Issues in Collaborative Practice, '08 - I was trainer w/Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT;
- Her Brain - His Brain:A Practical Approach to Emotional Issues in Collaborative Practice, '09 - I was trainer w/Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT;
- Mediation Skills and Strategies in Collaborative and Unbundled Practices, Woody Mosten, J.D., '10 - I was a shadow trainer;
- How to Have Difficult Conversations, '11 - I was trainer w/Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT;
- Working As An Integrated Team Toward Agreement Readiness, '11 - I was trainer w/Brian Levy, J.D., & Warren Sacks, CPA;
- How To Recognize and Remedy Positioning of the Client by a Professional Team Member, '12 -I was trainer w/Brian Levy, J.D., & Warren Sacks,
CPA;
- Full Team Interdisciplinary Collaborative Divorce Practice, An Overview: Basic Understanding of Protocols, Roles of Professionals and Ethical
Concerns, '12 - I was trainer w/Bart Carey, J.D., & Tracy Mckenney, CFP, CDFA;
- Collaborative Divorce Interdisciplinary Team Protocols, Shadow Trainer, '12 - Collaborative Divorce Team Trainings;
- The Power of Peacemaking Circles; The Challenges of Expectations, Trust & Fairness in the Collaborative Process; Skill Building for the - - -
Advanced Practitioner - What I Learned at the 2014 IACP Educational Forum, '15, - I was instructor;
- Protecting Children In High Conflict Divorces, '15, - I was Co-presenter with Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT;
- Collaborative Divorce: A New Paradigm for Resolving Disputes Respectfully without Litigation, '15, at AFCC-CA Conference - I was co-presenter
with Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Levy, J.D.;
- The Neutral Child Specialist's Value Added to Collaborative Divorce Teams, '15, at CP Cal's annual conference - I was co-presenter with Cathleen
Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Levy, J.D.;
- Neutral Financial Specialist's Role in Bringing Clients to Agreement Readiness, '15, at CP Cal's annual conference - I was co-presenter with
Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF;
- Neutral Financial Specialist's Role in Bringing Clients to Agreement Readiness, '15, - I was co-presenter with Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA,
MAFF;
- The Neutral Child Specialist's Value Added to Collaborative Divorce Teams, '15, at IACP's annual Forum - I was co-presenter with Cathleen
Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Levy, J.D.;
- Neutral Financial Specialist's Role in Bringing Clients to Agreement Readiness, '15, at IACP's annual Forum - I was co-presenter with Cathleen
Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Levy, J.D.;
- How Full Interdisciplinary Teams Bring Clients to Agreement Readiness, '16, - at Collaborative Divorce Education Institute training - I was co-
presenter with Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Levy, J.D.;
- How Interdisciplinary Teams Bringing Clients to Agreement Readiness, '16, at CP Cal's annual conference - I was co-presenter with
Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Diana L. Martinez, J.D.;
- How Interdisciplinary Teams Bringing Clients to Agreement Readiness, '16, at IACP Forum - I was co-presenter with
Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA, MAFF, Bruce Fredenburg, LMFT, & Brian Don Levy, J.D.;
- Collaborative Divorce Interdisciplinary Three Day Team Training: Fundamentals and Beyond, '17 - I was co-developer, co-presenter and trainer
Available upon request
Comments
I am a founding member of CDSOC (Collaborative Divorce Solutions of Orange County) and have served on the CDSOC Board of Directors. I have been a presenter at the California state collaborative professionals organization's (CPCAL) conferences. In addition, I was a cofounder of and trainer for the Collaborative Divorce Education Institute, which was a non-profit organization whose mission was to provide excellent training for collaborative professionals as well as education for the public about peaceful and respectful solutions for families who are restructuring before, during and after the divorce process. I am a 2011 Eureka Award recipient, awarded by Collaborative Practice California, the state of California collaborative practice organization. The Eureka Award recognizes those who have made significant contributions and demonstrated an abiding dedication to establishing and sustaining Collaborative Practice in California.