Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Fields. Them and their team share their story with us below:
With over 20 years of experience working in multi-disciplinary environments with children and families, Ms. Fields now applies her combination of clinical, legal, and forensic training/experience to serve families navigating divorce-related proceedings. Ms. Fields is able to assist both professionals and families in the most high-need litigation proceedings and offer specialized services to work towards a reduction of conflict. She is also available as an Expert Witness for divorce proceedings. Personally, Ms. Fields is very passionate about influencing the many facets of the divorcing process to elevate the needs of children to the highest levels. This passion stems not only from her lengthy career in child welfare and advocacy but also her own experience as a child of multiple divorces. Both of these paths played a significant role in leading Ms. Fields to create the Divorce Resource Center of Georgia, using an innovative, collaborative approach under one roof to provide services for all family members, both court-ordered and voluntary. Now in our 4th year, we recently achieved some major milestones! Part of our mission is for our services to be more accessible and affordable for Georgians, so we applied and received Non-Profit Status early this year. We also opened our 3rd location in Metro Atlanta and are excited to continue to pursue other areas of Georgia in the future.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We got started in the spring of 2019 with three clinicians. Through a relationship with the University of Georgia School of Social Work, we added 2 MSW interns in the fall of 2020. During that first year in business, we experienced growth of over 200%! So plans were put into motion to move into a larger office…and then March 2020 happened. Similar to many businesses provided primarily in-person services, we were fearful of what was to come as a pandemic swept our community, the nation, and the world. But we knew the need for our services was not going anywhere and was likely to increase because of the pandemic, so we took a leap of faith and moved into a larger facility in the summer of 2020. Our clinicians scrambled to find innovative ways to continue to serve our clients virtually and then safely in person, and we really did not slow down. I recall getting only a 2-week break, which was mainly because the world was still in shock! The main challenge for us came a little later, in the spring of 2021. Our industry of Mental Health Professionals was hit pretty hard with the devastation of the pandemic not only for our clients but within our own families and communities. Hiring clinicians to meet the increased needs of our influx of potential clients was very difficult. This difficulty continued through most of 2021. Thankfully, things seem to be getting back to normal, but we are still actively hiring to try to meet the needs of our communities.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As it turns out, I’m an expert in divorce and child custody matters. Not that I started my professional journey with that goal in mind. Specializing in child therapy in a solo private practice, I encountered a heart-wrenching situation that led me to recognize the need for a collaborative, multi-disciplinary model for individuals and families involved in divorce and child custody. A mother discovered her young child was being abused by her father. The mother did all the “right” things–she reported it to Child Protective Services Law Enforcement, and moved out of the home and filed for divorce. I became the child’s therapist during this time. But, because of the young age of the child, the systems in place to protect her were not able to. Her need for protection came down to a custody battle. I felt that her safety rested on my shoulders as a witness in the hearing. And it was because of my knowledge and experience that the court was able have the necessary information to protect the child. The advocate in my flew into action. Ultimately, The Divorce Resource Center of Georgia Inc is the result of a lot of brainstorming for solutions in the complex and often subjective field of high-conflict divorce and child custody matters.
Using my unique perspective as a Professional Social Worker and my passion to protect children, I began to dive deep into current best practices and research, reach out to attorneys, judges, other therapists, and national organizations to assess for the need for a systematic improvements. The response was swift and the feedback was “Yes, PLEASE!” Within one year of being in business, a solo private practice grew to an 8-member team of professionals with regular referrals from the judicial system. I soon also discovered as our outreach grew in the state that we were doing something not only innovative and effective but also not being done anywhere else in the state! This led to pursuing a non-profit certification so that local communities could invest in bringing our organization to their families. In the past 4 years, we’ve developed a reputation that I am very proud of–attorneys have given us feedback that we are very effective as witnesses in legal proceedings, and families let us know regularly they “don’t know what they would do without us;” and now other legal and mental health professionals seek out our expertise for their own businesses, and lastly but certainly not least, we are truly honored at the trust that parents place in our services to protect and advocate for their children.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: The 25 years Landmark Study by Julia M. Lewis
Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse by Shannon Thomas
All of Susan Forward’s books, especially Emotional Blackmail
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia Nagoski and Emily Nagoski
Websites
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts www.afccnet.org
And my own work in progress…Know Divorce Drama, a podcast, website and social media presence to further expand the knowledge I’ve gained in this journey. www.knowdivorcedrama.com
Podcasts
The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast with Kate Anthony
The Narcissist Trauma and Recovery Podcast with Caroline Strawson
The Ennegram Journey with Suzanne Stabile
Dana Carvey & David Spade Fly on the Wall (to cope with humor at the end of a long day!)
Pricing:
- Sessions range from $50-$175
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drcofga.com
- Instagram: @drcofga @knowdivorcedrama
- Facebook: @drcofga @knowdivorcedrama
- Twitter: @centerdivorce
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr2MV1valwgF17H51ECxVQ
Image Credits
John Pyle Photography (for headshot only)
