Family Specialist

As a Family Specialist, Amanda’s goal is to provide neutral support that fosters healthy relationships between children and both parents, as well as within the family as a whole. She is committed to educating, supporting, and encouraging positive problem-solving while helping to reduce unproductive conflict.

What is a Family Specialist?

A Family Specialist is a Licensed Mental Health Professional with specialized training and experience in child development, family systems, Collaborative Divorce, interdisciplinary teams, understanding based negotiations, and working with children and families in the context of divorce.

When is a Family Specialist Used?

Typically, a Family Specialist is one of the professionals engaged when a couple is pursuing a Collaborative Divorce. However, Family Specialist services can also be utilized independently of the Collaborative Divorce process—meaning it is not necessary to be involved in Collaborative Divorce to benefit from these services. When not working as part of a Collaborative Divorce team, Amanda may also take on mediation tasks, as long as they align with her skills and experience.

For most children experiencing their parents’ separation or divorce, the effects tend to be modest and relatively short-lived. Within two years of separation, the majority of parents regain their equilibrium, establish polite but distant communication with their ex-partner, and their children adapt to new living arrangements. While many children report painful feelings related to their parents’ divorce, a significant minority experience extended and prolonged difficulties, which may include both internalizing and externalizing problems.

Amanda’s goal is to minimize the likelihood of prolonged suffering, ease painful transitions, and help parents move more quickly toward a healthy, flexible, and respectful co-parenting relationship.

Divorce itself is not what harms children. The most harmful part of divorce for children is high levels of conflict and distress. Studies have found that family conflict hurts children more than divorce or even parental death.

Collaboration

Amanda is not a legal professional. While she guides discussions on various issues, including legal matters, she does not draft legal documents or provide legal advice. In a Collaborative Divorce, Amanda offers feedback to divorce attorneys and other professionals from the child’s perspective, which is considered when developing a parenting plan. The observations she shares with parents are solution-focused and non-judgmental.

Work done with Amanda as a Family Specialist in a Collaborative Divorce case is confidential and not admissible in court if the case does not settle. Her input helps parents make informed decisions and often validates that they are moving in the right direction. This feedback empowers parents to reach agreements by keeping the focus on what matters most—meeting the needs of the children, including financial considerations—and can help shift disagreements toward resolution.

Amanda may also document progress by taking notes and completing working “Parenting Plan” drafts, which are shared with both parents to assist in decision-making. These drafts are not legal agreements, but if parents reach consensus, they can use them to have formal agreements legally drafted and submitted. If parents do not agree, the co-parenting contract ensures that information shared during the process remains protected and confidential.

The Family Specialist functions as a neutral to bring the voice of the children into the process.

As a Family Specialist, Amanda will…

• focus parents on the immediate developmental needs of their children;

• help parents develop a narrative to tell their children about divorce and explain it in a way that is developmentally appropriate for their children;

• help parents look beyond divorce and envision their children’s lives into the future;

• teach and facilitate productive parenting discussions, even about difficult issues and differences

• teach parents about parenting through the crisis of divorce and creates a structure for healthy and effective co-parenting into the future.

Divorce itself is not what harms children. The most harmful part of divorce for children is high levels of conflict and distress. Studies have found that family conflict hurts children more than divorce or even parental death.

Issues down the road…

If new issues arise later, parents have the option to resume the Collaborative Process and address these matters using a similar approach. When a settlement has been reached through collaboration, parents are often more comfortable returning to the same process and professionals for any needed modifications, as they have already established trust and a shared understanding that all family members have a voice.

The original settlement typically includes a detailed schedule for parenting time and covers many other co-parenting topics in a parenting plan—issues that might not be addressed fully if decided by a judge. By settling through collaboration, parents avoid the time-consuming and costly nature of extended negotiations or litigation. With the guidance of a Family Specialist and the Collaborative Divorce team, parties are more likely to reach agreements that endure over time. (3).

Rates

Amanda offers a free 10-15 minute consultation meeting with both parents to address any questions about the process and to ensure we are a good fit.

Her rate is $160 per hour through 2025. Beginning January 1, 2026, her hourly rate will increase to $175.

Next steps

If you are a potential new client, you can contact me in whatever way you’d prefer…

• Email: amanda@amandapikala.com

• Phone: (651) 216-5309

• Form provided below

I will get back to you quickly to set up a free consult to discuss next steps and answer any questions you have.