Who Are You Beyond the Divorce? Finding Identity, Purpose, and Peace with Susan Filan

Divorce changes more than legal status. It challenges identity, disrupts certainty, and forces people to ask one of life's hardest questions: Who am I now?

In this episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy® Podcast, Tracy Callahan sits down with attorney, ADR Divorce Coach®, and Heroic Divorce founder Susan Filan. After surviving a life-changing accident that transformed her perspective on success, purpose, and identity, Susan now helps clients navigate divorce as an opportunity for personal growth rather than simply a legal ending.

Together, they explore why divorce coaching fills a critical gap in the divorce process, how conflict informed coaching helps clients make better decisions, and why lasting transformation begins by reconnecting with who we are beneath the roles, titles, and relationships that often define us.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why divorce is an identity transition, not just a legal process
• The difference between external validation and internal values
• How conflict informed divorce coaching helps clients make clearer decisions
• Why moving from victim to hero changes the divorce experience
• The role of purpose, choice, and self leadership in creating life after divorce
• How divorce coaching supports clients beyond the courtroom

Whether you're a divorce professional or navigating your own transition, this conversation offers a powerful reminder that healing begins when we reconnect with who we truly are and discover that divorce can become the beginning of a more intentional life.

Connect with Susan Filan:
Learn more about Susan’s work and connect with her at https://susanfilan.com/

Ready to take the next step in your divorce coaching practice?
Apply for the DCA Divorce Coach Certification Program here>>>

In this episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy® Podcast, Debra Doak is joined by her former client, Dianne Harris, relationship coach, speaker, and author of her memoir, "Love Bomb: He Sold Her a Dream and Delivered a Nightmare."

Dianne shares her personal experience navigating an emotionally abusive relationship, high-conflict divorce, and the confusion, overwhelm, and emotional whiplash that often come with divorcing a difficult personality. She also discusses how working with a DCA® Divorce Coach helped her gain clarity, stay grounded, understand her options, and move through the divorce process with more confidence and support.

After rebuilding her life, Dianne now helps purpose-driven women heal, reclaim their identity, and create healthy, emotionally safe relationships. Through her coaching, writing, and content, she empowers women to choose themselves, find their voice, and become the version of themselves who no longer settles for less than they deserve.

Connect with Dianne:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannepatriciaharris

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianneharriscoach

Love Bomb on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GY5BL3G3

Learn more about Divorce Coaches Academy® and find a DCA® Certified Divorce Coach:
https://divorcecoachesacademy.com

As divorce coaching continues to grow across Canada, more professionals from adjacent fields—including family law, mediation, financial services, mental health, and life coaching—are incorporating divorce coaching into their practices. But as the profession expands, important questions are emerging:

What is divorce coaching? What competencies should clients expect? How do we distinguish education from certification? And what role should dispute resolution play in preparing professionals to support people through divorce?

In this episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy® Podcast, Tracy Callahan is joined by Dori Braddell, DCA's Director of Education and Development for Canada, to explore the evolving landscape of divorce coaching and introduce Elevate Canada, a new educational pathway designed for experienced professionals seeking to deepen and formalize their divorce coach training.

Together, Tracy and Dori discuss:

• The rapid growth of divorce coaching in Canada
• Why professional standards, competency, and consumer trust matter
• The difference between supporting divorcing families and being trained as a divorce coach
• Why divorce coaching is a distinct profession—not simply an extension of law, mediation, mental health, or life coaching
• The critical role of dispute resolution and conflict awareness in effective divorce coaching
• The risks of unintentionally crossing from coaching into advising or directing clients
• Why experience and formal education are complementary, not interchangeable
• The importance of competency-based certification
• How Elevate Canada helps experienced professionals strengthen their skills, credentials, and professional standing

Dori shares insights from her own journey into divorce coaching and explains why many experienced lawyers, mediators, and mental health professionals are surprised by how different divorce coaching is from their existing professional work.

Whether you're already practicing as a divorce coach, supporting families through divorce in another professional capacity, or exploring how to expand your services, this episode offers valuable perspective on the future of the profession and the importance of specialized training.

Elevate Canada was created for professionals who are already working in the divorce space—or in related professions—and want to deepen their education through DCA's ADR-based divorce coaching framework.

Participants complete the full educational curriculum of the DCA® Divorce Coach Certification Program through a flexible, self-paced learning model, while receiving ongoing support through twice-monthly office hours with DCA's Director of Education and Development for Canada.

Completion of the educational curriculum does not automatically result in certification. Those pursuing certification must successfully demonstrate competency through the DCA® certification examination process.

To learn more about Elevate Canada, visit:
https://www.divorcecoachesacademy.com/elevate

To apply to ELEVATE, go to:

https://form.jotform.com/261663154806156

For questions about the program, contact:
DCA.CA@divorcecoachesacademy.com

In this thought-provoking episode, Tracy Callahan explores a question that surfaces repeatedly in divorce coaching but is rarely asked directly: What are people really seeking when they want an apology, acknowledgement, or explanation from their former partner?

Inspired by the public conversation surrounding a bestselling memoir about marriage and betrayal, Tracy examines why so many people become stuck waiting for validation from someone else before allowing themselves to move forward. Through the lens of divorce coaching, she uncovers the deeper needs often hidden beneath the desire for an apology—self-trust, certainty, permission, understanding, and meaning.

Listeners will learn why acknowledgment from another person may not provide the relief they expect, how divorce can trigger profound identity uncertainty, and what becomes possible when people stop organizing their healing around someone else's capacity to reflect, repair, or take responsibility.

This episode offers valuable insights for divorce coaches, helping professionals, and anyone navigating the emotional complexity of relationship transitions.

In this episode, Tracy discusses:

• Why people often seek explanations long after a relationship ends
• The difference between wanting acknowledgment and needing permission
• How divorce challenges self-trust and personal identity
• Why apologies don't always create closure
• The role of divorce coaching in helping clients reconnect with their own capacity and decision-making
• Moving forward without waiting for validation from someone else

Whether you're supporting clients through divorce or navigating your own life transition, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: healing often begins when we stop waiting for someone else to unlock the next chapter.

When clients ask, "What should I do?" they are often seeking more than answers—they are seeking relief from uncertainty, fear, and overwhelm. In this episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy Podcast, Tracy Callahan is joined by family law attorney, mediator, and divorce coach Lauren Fair to explore one of the most common and ethically nuanced questions divorce professionals encounter.

Together, they discuss the critical distinction between providing education and giving advice, why decision-making can feel so difficult during divorce, and how divorce coaches help clients build clarity, confidence, and self-trust without making decisions for them. Lauren shares insights from both her legal and coaching perspectives, highlighting the importance of understanding options, navigating conflict, and supporting clients in making values-based decisions that align with their goals.

The conversation also explores professional boundaries, the role of coaching within interdisciplinary divorce teams, and why ethical standards, competency, and staying within scope are essential to the continued growth and credibility of the divorce coaching profession.

Whether you're a divorce coach, attorney, mediator, financial professional, mental health practitioner, or someone navigating divorce yourself, this episode offers valuable insights into helping clients move from confusion to clarity—without telling them what to do.

Topics discussed:
• Why clients ask professionals, "What should I do?"
• The connection between fear, uncertainty, and decision-making
• Education versus advice in divorce coaching
• Rebuilding self-trust after divorce and betrayal
• Values-based decision-making during conflict
• Ethical boundaries and scope of practice
• The evolving role of divorce coaches on professional teams
• Building client capacity and confidence for long-term success

Learn more about Lauren Fair, Certified Family Law Specialist, Mediator, and Divorce Coach, Dedicated to Resolving Family Law Problems Outside of Court at Fair Cadora https://faircadora.com/legal-team/lauren-m-fair

Divorce Coaches Academy® and upcoming certification programs at divorcecoachesacademy.com

What happens when helping actually gets in the way of healing?

In this powerful episode of the Divorce Coaches Academy Podcast®, Tracy Callahan is joined by somatic experiencing practitioner, certified mental health coach, Michelle Browning for a profound conversation about the shift from correction to capacity in divorce coaching.

Together, they explore why rushing to fix, solve, or “move clients forward” can unintentionally reinforce overwhelm—and why building a client’s capacity to stay connected to themselves during conflict may be the most important work divorce coaches do.

Through the lens of nervous system regulation, agency, autonomy, and emotional resilience, Tracy and Michelle unpack:

• Why strategy alone is not enough when clients are flooded or shut down
• The difference between emotional regulation and nervous system regulation
• How “helping” can sometimes soothe the professional more than the client
• What functional freeze looks like in divorce conversations and legal meetings
• Why tiny, tolerable steps create sustainable progress
• How divorce coaches can become a grounded, regulating presence for clients navigating uncertainty and conflict

Michelle also shares a moving story about a butterfly struggling to emerge from its chrysalis—a metaphor that beautifully illustrates the importance of allowing clients the dignity of their own process.

This episode is an invitation for divorce coaches and helping professionals to rethink what support truly means and to recognize that transformation often happens not through rushing, but through staying present long enough for capacity to grow.

About Michelle Browning
Michelle Browning guides people through endings, messy middles, and new beginnings with a trauma-informed, nervous-system-centered approach to healing and personal transformation. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Certified Mental Health Coach and educator who helps clients reclaim their voice, agency, and direction—one tolerable step at a time.

Learn more about Michelle Browning at:
https://www.michellebrowning.com

• How The Mother Lode evolved from writing about motherhood into writing about divorce and separation
• The emotional process of realizing a marriage is over
• The moment she finally decided to leave her marriage
• What it feels like to navigate a high-conflict divorce
• How divorce coaching differs from therapy and legal representation
• Why many women struggle to answer the question: “What do you need?”
• The financial stress and uncertainty many women face during divorce
• How divorce coaching helped her prepare for attorney meetings and legal negotiations
• Why emotional regulation and “distress tolerance” are critical during divorce
• The ongoing challenges of post-divorce conflict and co-parenting
• How divorce coaching helped her feel more “sturdy,” capable, and empowered

Divorce is not just a legal process. It is emotional, financial, logistical, and deeply personal.

This episode highlights how divorce coaching can provide strategic and emotional support during divorce—especially for individuals navigating high-conflict relationships, financial uncertainty, and identity shifts after separation.

Listeners will walk away with a clearer understanding of:

• What a divorce coach actually does
• When divorce coaching can help
• How divorce coaching can reduce overwhelm during divorce
• Why support systems matter during major life transitions

“Sometimes you’ve got to write your way through to the truth.”

“I never want to feel this way again.”

“Don’t be afraid to need a lot of people in your corner during this phase in your life.”

“What if you left for your kids?”

• Substack: https://cindyditiberio.substack.com/
• Instagram: @cindy.ditiberio

• Website: https://divorcecoachesacademy.com
• Find a Certified Divorce Coach through Divorce Coaches Academy® Coach Locator https://www.divorcecoachesacademy.com/coach-locator

Cindy DiTiberio is a writer and creator of The Mother Load, a popular Substack focused on motherhood, divorce, relationships, identity, and co-parenting. Through personal essays and her “Divorce Diaries” interview series, Cindy shares honest stories about the emotional and practical realities of divorce that resonate with thousands of women navigating similar experiences.

As divorce coaching continues to grow, social media has created a new form of authority built on relatability, lived experience, and audience trust. But when personal experience becomes guidance without clear ethical boundaries, what risks emerge for vulnerable individuals navigating divorce?

Tracy examines the difference between lived experience and professional competency, the ethical concerns surrounding unregulated influence in the divorce space, and why divorce coaching requires more than visibility and personal storytelling. She discusses how emotional vulnerability, algorithm driven platforms, and monetized audiences are reshaping the landscape of divorce support and why ethical standards matter now more than ever.

Topics discussed include:
• The rise of the divorce influencer phenomenon
• Why relatability is not the same as expertise
• The ethical risks of unregulated guidance during divorce
• Audience trust, monetization, and accountability
• Scope of practice in divorce coaching
• The importance of conflict informed and ADR aligned coaching
• Why divorce coaching requires training, structure, and ethical responsibility

This episode is a powerful call for greater clarity, professionalism, and accountability within the divorce coaching industry and a reminder that influence without responsibility can create real harm.

Learn more about Divorce Coaches Academy® and professional divorce coach training at:
https://divorcecoachesacademy.com