In many divorce or family law proceedings, either party (or both parties) may have psychological issues interfering with his/her ability to accurately perceive his/her environment, legal issues and relationship with others. Some psychological issues are long-standing; others are reactions to the break-up of the family.

Many people become depressed or have a sense of hopelessness and helplessness when attempting to resolve the divorce; others become overly aggressive, angry and are concerned with obtaining revenge on the other party. Either basis may result in one spouse using the children to punish the other spouse. If the punishing person is in a superior financial position, he/she may use this power to over-litigate the case and cause squandering of the parties' assets on legal fees when they should be used to benefit the family as a whole or members individually.

Alan R. Silverman's background as a clinical psychologist and experienced family therapist permits him to accurately perceive the dynamics of the relationships between the spouses and between each party and the children. He can determine the motivation of the opposing party and help his client effectively cope with all forms of psychopathology that occur during the case.

The benefit to the client is that Mr. Silverman has the background to help him or her through these emotionally difficult times. He works effectively with clients who suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome, alcohol- and/or drug-related issues and many other psychological issues. If the opposing party is overly aggressive, demanding and suffers from personality disorders, such as borderline, narcissistic and antisocial personality, Mr. Silverman has the experience and education to keep the case focused, keep the client protected and avoid, whenever possible, excessive and volatile litigation.