Tom’s story 

“When I first went to see Claire, my wife and I had agreed to divorce. I had taken the lead and filed for divorce.

My wife had ‘more or less’ moved out of home, and as I later discovered, she had been having an affair and was mainly living at her new partner’s home. She was quickly demanding that I make her an offer of settlement! I was financing all the costs to our home, and I felt very much on the back foot. I was not sure of the best course of action.

I desperately needed help and advice but as a private person this wasn’t easy, then my divorce lawyer recommended I contact Claire, and throughout the 8 months of my divorce that was the best decision I made!

I needed to get our house sold and our divorce settled as quickly as possible without completely giving into my wife, who was totally financially driven.

Outwardly I was giving the impression I was in control of the situation, and all was OK. But really, I was kidding myself and I didn’t feel great or in control. I knew I wanted to feel confident in my decisions, but didn’t know how to do this.

Talking through my divorce issues, Claire helped me prioritize what was really important to me in my life and how / where I should focus my thinking and energies. This was done by discussion and practical exercises which really made me think in a different way and importantly in a more positive way.

The biggest ‘AHA’ moment was the realization was that I wasn’t on the back foot anymore and the worries about the relationship patterns I’d experienced with my wife were no longer my problem – they were now somebody else’s problem, and I was able to move forward with confidence.

The biggest shift was that I was able to stand up for myself and say “No” to my wife. This was not something I had done before, as for most of our marriage I had given into my wife. I was now able to push back with rational reasons on why I wouldn’t give in to her constant demands.

As a start Claire has a legal background, so understands the legal side of divorce. She is a very warm person and very easy to talk and open up to. I have never found this easy in life but Claire had a way of getting all of your problems out on the table and then tackling them one by one, you never feel rushed.

Without question I would recommend Claire to anyone who is going through a divorce. She has a wealth of experience of many divorce situations, great listening skills and offers very measured answers and good suggestions on what courses of action you could take, actions I would never have thought of.

Claire has also helped me think about how I go into new relationships without making the same mistakes, which may sound simple but is vitally important!

Working with Claire helped me enormously in getting through my divorce, which at times was very tough going!”