The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals is the main professional group for collaborative 
practitioners. Its latest newsletter reports on the use of neuroscience in collaboration. Since we were just talking about anxiety, I thought we would continue the brain discussion.
For us non-science folks, the bottom line is that perception, memory and emotions all intertwine in our brains. The brain processes information based on the way our brains intertwined the data and eventually hard-wires us to respond in certain ways. That's why anxiety shuts down our brains.
For those coping with years of addictions or power imbalances, the hardwiring can be strong and these people tend to fall back on familiar coping mechanisms when under stress. For these people, it will take
a conscious effort to overcome the old patterns created by the hardwiring in their brains.
The Collaborative process allows the re-building of the brain's hardwiring by breaking each meeting into specific tasks and allowing the person to process the new information in small bits. The calm, positive atmosphere of a collaborative divorce team also actually produces slower brain waves for the team and the divorcing spouses. As the divorcing spouses' brains slow down and relax, their minds can open not only to information but to new prespectives that the old hardwiring would not permit.
When compared to a traditional litigation perspective, collaborative divorce is healthier. Litigation kicks in the flight-or-fight response which increases blood flow and heart rate. When that happens, the body uses its fuel for the response rather than nourishing itself. When calm is restored, the fuel goes to the body organs and the brain can make new hardwiring and heal the past.
So it really is true - the collaborative divorce process helps your brain AND your body.
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