Divorce is often viewed as the failure of a marriage, a painful last resort that leaves families fractured.One therapist is trying to change that perception through an approach that she calls "compassionate divorce," taking the sting out of ending a marriage by viewing the process in a different way."Discovering Diamonds: A Story of Compassionate Divorce" author and therapist Sarene Arias argues that divorce does not mean failure, and that it can be the beginning of a new phase in life rather than the end of one.
She often works with couples in crisis through her "diamond workshops" with the goal of helping them define success on their own."My work, in the largest sense, is to help to normalize what I call 'compassionate divorce,'" Arias told Fox News Digital.KRISTIN CAVALLARI DOUBLES DOWN ON CONTROVERSIAL CLAIM ABOUT HER DIVORCE FROM JAY CUTLERSarene Arias is looking to challenge how people think of divorce, taking it from a traumatic event to an opportunity to improve family dynamics.(KatarzynaBialasiewicz via Getty Images)While Arias is advocating for a different way of thinking about divorce, Pew Research Center says that Americans have been divorcing less frequently in recent decades.
According to Pew, the refined divorce rate, which measures the number of divorces per 1,000 married women ages 15 and older, fell from 20.5 in 2008 to 14.4 in 2023.Researchers suggested the decline may be partly tied to changing marriage patterns.In her book, Arias explains the origin of her "diamonds" terminology.
It came about as she and her now- ex-husband told their children that they had decided to get a divorce.Upon hearing the news, Arias' son, who was seven years old at the time, said that the family was changing shapes from a square to a diamond.
Her son explained that in his mind, it was because Arias and her ex-husband were moving further apart, but the unit was "still one family.""A diamond, black coal forged under years of pressure into a translucent, radiant gem,...