In this podcast, my guest, Roberta Samet, and I discuss the impact of divorce on children, when they are used by one ex-partner to gain power over, or punish, the other.
When this happens, children are put into an impossible bind, in which they must align with one parent and reject the other. Often, they take responsibility for the pain they have caused the marginalized parent, and experience intense guilt and remorse in adulthood.
Roberta and I also discuss the impact of this on the new couple, and how they can either cede power to the ex-partner and allow him/her to dominate their new couple, or attempt to focus instead on their new relationship and minimize the influence of the ex-partner.