1. 64. “Why does he turn everything positive into a negative?”: Distorted cognitions as a strategy Diane Dierks & Rick Voyles 30:09

Tamika from Alabama wonders why her co-parent persists in finding the bad in her, especially since she is trying so hard to be a good co-parent. Diane & Rick break it down and discuss how grieving parents or high conflict people use cognitive distortions as a strategy to get sympathy or attention. They also talk about the I Am Non-Impossible journal and an exciting series of episodes coming in November, called the Case from Hell.

For a list of Cognitive Distortions discussed in this episode, see this LINK.

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DIANE DIERKS is a licensed marriage and family therapist, as well as the executive director of the Center for Navigating Family Change (www.CNFC.org), a non-profit that provides court-ordered parenting education and co-parenting services to the state of Georgia. She has been a parenting coordinator and reunification therapist for many years, and provides consultation and expert witness services in high conflict custody matters. She resides in St. Simons Island, Georgia, with her husband and their three-legged Lab mix and one-eyed Yorkie. She has two grown children and two grandchildren.

RICK VOYLES is CEO of the Center for Dispute Solutions, as well as a certified business coach, an anger management specialist and a professional mediator. Rick travels internationally, training and developing federal mediators in their agency ADR programs. He is a published author, business coach and entrepreneur. He has developed an online Mediation Training including over 17 video presentations. He has also produced a TV program, “Conflict, Mediation and You” where he discusses topics in conflict management, as well as mediation techniques. Rick is a subject matter expert in the areas of Divorce, Co-parenting, Negotiation, Cross-cultural Communication and Conflict Resolution. He frequently teaches court-ordered co-parenting seminars and is a trained parenting coordinator. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Janet.