The Cost of Conflict – How to Help Patients Successfully Navigate Divorce and other Major Family Shifts
Presentation By Morgan Foster, JD, award-winning divorce attorney and founder of the Pivot Process.
Divorce itself doesn’t destroy families—unchecked conflict does. 2022 meta-analysis in the Journal of Family Psychology found that children exposed to high-conflict divorces experience significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues than children whose parents separate amicably. The lesson: it’s not separation that wounds, but the way we separate.
The financial toll is staggering. According to the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, the average litigated divorce in the U.S. costs $15,000–$30,000 per person. In high-conflict cases, that number easily surpasses $100,000 per side. And that’s just the surface. According to J. W. Woodside Wiegmann, M.B.A., quantitative and financial expert - these costs ripple outward—lost productivity, increased healthcare needs, destabilized futures, and wealth that could have compounded for generations, gone.
But perhaps the most insidious damage is neurological. When we live in prolonged states of conflict, our bodies stay locked in fight-or-flight mode. Cortisol floods our system. Over time, as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports, this chronic stress erodes neural pathways, compromises our immune systems, and accelerates cellular aging. Telomere shortening—once associated primarily with smoking or obesity—now shows up in people exposed to sustained interpersonal conflict.
It doesn’t stop with the couple. Families fracture. Friends take sides. New relationships collapse under the weight of unresolved trauma. A 25-year longitudinal study out of the University of Washington found that children from high-conflict homes are 40% more likely to repeat those patterns in adulthood.
To be clear: disagreement isn’t the enemy. We need robust debate, diverse viewpoints, and intellectual challenge. But how we engage—whether with curiosity or contempt—makes all the difference. Civility isn’t weakness; it’s a strategy for survival.
Instead of demanding who’s right, we should ask: at what cost? Conflict, when left unchecked, erodes our empathy, narrows our imagination, and leaves us exhausted. The stakes are no longer just emotional—they are societal, neurological, economic, generational.
Award-winning divorce attorney Morgan Foster will explore:
- What are alternatives to high-conflict divorce
- What resources (beyond attorney and therapist) are available and how to find these
- What are common “false assumptions” that lead people down a high-conflict path
- What can a “good” divorce look like
- Answer questions about how best to address challenges of family law conflict
Morgan Foster is not only the founder and CEO of The Pivot Process, but she's also an accomplished Attorney of 20 plus years. In fact, ten of these years were spent representing clients in complex divorce and custody cases. In this role, she witnessed firsthand the toll of divorce litigation- financial and emotional with children bearing the heaviest burden.
She came to realize that there had to be a better way, so she created The Pivot Process. Under Morgan's direction, the Pivot Process is designed to help you resolve differences, foster healthy co-parenting relationships, and thrive beyond divorce. It's designed to turn a challenging time into an opportunity for personal growth and renewal.
Morgan has published & presented extensively on this topic as well as appeared on various podcasts & television shows. She is a regular guest on WHCP as the “Divorce Doctor.”
Cost: LCPCM members - $30 / Non-members - $40 ($5.00 fee for all refunds)
CEUs: 2 (10am to 12pm) No partial credit will be given
Registration limited!
Registration will end July 7th at 11:59pm
Zoom link will be emailed to those registered approximately 24 hours prior to class.
Class evaluation and CEU certificate link will be sent on the following Monday (July 14th, 2025)
