Programs & Services > Families in Transition > Quick Facts
Families in Transition: Fast Facts
What does FIT do?
Our work addresses the challenges of separation, divorce, and repartnering for families with children eighteen years of age or younger. A family is two or more people, whether living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption or commitment to care for one another.
We provide specialized services including:
- pre-separation seminars for parents preparing children for an upcoming or recent separation,
- therapy groups for families dealing with the challenges of parental separation and divorce; parents attend parent groups and children attend age-appropriate children’s groups,
- parenting skills groups for single parents,
- support groups for parents living apart from their children,
- individual and family counselling focused on child adjustment to separation, divorce, or blending/repartnering,
- closed mediation of parenting plan issues,
- educational seminars for parents, and
- groups for couples that focus on stepparenting and repartnering challenges.
FIT’s separation and divorce programs help:
- teach strategies for reducing parental conflict,
- create effective coparenting relationships,
- support children's grieving and healing process, and
- strengthen child/parent relationships when parents live apart.
FIT’s repartnering and blending families programs help:
- develop strategies for resolving the past,
- strengthen stepfamily relationships,
- define roles and boundaries,
- establish a parenting style and discipline strategy,
- develop stepfamily routines and traditions, and
- create effective parenting coalitions.
What Participants Say About FIT
- "I needed to get stuff out. I didn't need anyone to say anything back. It didn't make a change in the surroundings, but it made a change inside. Group helped." (11 year old)
- “Excellent! This was my first group session and I loved it. The group leader was an excellent listener and facilitator. The whole experience greatly surpassed my expectations. l would highly recommend it”.
- “I am now thinking about being more flexible with regard to my children’s behaviour. I learned they need me as their father and they need to know they are loved”.
- “I had a lot of my questions answered. I liked the handouts and group discussion. It helped me to understand the importance of ‘stepping back’”.
- “I learned not to worry about the little things and to emphasize bigger things such as security, communication and openness”.
- “It opened my mind to ways that I can help to reduce conflict”.
FIT Staffing
- social workers and therapists trained at the post-graduate level
- extensive experience working with separating, divorcing, and repartnering families
- staff have additional training in child development, grief work, and conflict resolution
History of Families in Transition (FIT)
- Specialized services at FST commenced in 1977 with therapeutic groups for children and their parents focussing on supporting child adjustment to separation, divorce, and remarriage
- Research project 1980-1984, financially supported by federal government, confirmed effectiveness of our group model
- FIT became a department of FST in 1984, based on the research results
- 1984 onwards, development of clinical model and expansion of educational and therapeutic programming to reflect the factors associated with positive child outcomes
- Research project 1990-1995, financially supported by federal government, reconfirmed the efficacy of the FIT model
Important Canadian Statistics
- 70,000+ divorces annually in Canada
- In 2007 there were 1,684,714 divorced Canadians
- In 2006 there were 1,414,060 single parent families in Canada
- 50% of second unions in Canada end within five years
To arrange for counselling, please call our Service Access Unit, Tel: 416.595.9618
