Divorce has become so widespread and, in certain cases, complex, that there are now a wide array of professionals who concentrate on serving divorcing couples with different skill sets and from different vantage points.

One of the newest professional arrivals on the divorce scene is The Divorce Coach. A Memphis Commercial Appeal article, Divorce coach: A new profession helps people cut through the end zone of a long-term relationship, offers an introduction to the role and background of divorce coaches in some divorces.

Although the article focuses on divorce coaches who are psychologists, who aid their clients in transitioning back to single life, divorce coaches may have alternative experiences and play varying roles in certain divorces.

People who hold themselves out as divorce coaches may instead be social workers, financial analysts and planners, mediators, life coaches, ordinary people who have been divorced themselves – and even attorneys who are not representing either party as attorney, among other professional backgrounds.

And divorce coaching means many different things to different professionals. While some concentrate on developing their client’s coping and transitioning capabilities, others function more as expert advisors on selected aspects of the divorce process itself.

Since divorce coaching is still a new, evolving concept, anyone interested in hiring a divorce coach should clarify early on the type of assistance they are seeking and be sure to engage someone with the appropriate background and mindset to provide that type of assistance.