Online therapy for women & Moms who are separated, going through the legal divorce process, or adjusting to life post-divorce
Online Divorce and Separation Counseling in Charlotte, North Carolina
Therapy for Charlotte Women at all stages of the divorce process
It’s Monday at 9:30am, and you’re sitting on the floor of the office bathroom with a meeting at 10. You’re checking your makeup because your eyes are red around the edges, and you’re trying to decide whether anyone will notice.
A colleague you’ve worked with for years walks in and asks how your weekend was. The kindness of the question catches you at the wrong moment and you will yourself not to start crying again. You say it was fine. You turn back to the mirror. You give yourself sixty seconds to get your face under control before you walk back into the meeting.
You’re still doing what needs to be done: you get through the meeting with the attorney. You follow the custody schedule, handle the paperwork, respond to school emails, and show up for work. You’ve got the skills and stamina to manage a complicated life.
But a message from your ex can still make your stomach drop. Your child can ask one hard question about the divorce and leave you replaying the conversation for hours. You make it through the workday, then lose patience over a missing shoe, an overflowing backpack, or another request that needs an answer now.
I’m Emily Fornwalt, PhD, and I provide individual divorce and separation counseling for professional women and mothers online in Charlotte, North Carolina. I work with women who are considering separation, going through divorce, or adjusting to life after divorce and want its emotional weight to take up less space at work, with their children, in co-parenting, and when they’re alone.
→ More about how I work with separated and divorcing women here.
When Divorce Follows You to Work
You’re the person people count on. You’re prepared for the presentation, you’ve already thought through the questions someone might ask, and you know how to keep your face steady when a meeting goes sideways.
Then you glance at your phone between meetings and see your ex’s name on the screen.
It might be a short message about pickup on Friday, a request to switch a weekend, or a question about something your child said. Whatever it is, your body reacts before you’ve even fully read it. Your stomach drops and your shoulders tighten. You read the message once, then again, trying to decide whether it’s reasonable, manipulative, careless, or all three.
You tell yourself you’ll answer later, but part of your mind stays on it through the meeting. You lose the thread of what someone is saying. You look down at your notes and can’t remember why you wrote them. On the drive home, you start composing your response in your head.
By the time you get home, you’ve spent most of the day preparing for a conversation that hasn’t happened.
The same thing can happen with a school email, a custody handoff, or a question from your child that lands harder than you expected. You hold yourself together while you’re in the room with everyone else. Then you get to the car, the bathroom, or the kitchen after bedtime, and the tears, anger, fear, or exhaustion finally have somewhere to go.
You don’t need someone to tell you to put your phone away, meditate, or make another list. You need someone who understands why these moments take over, what they’re bringing up, and how to respond without spending the rest of your day recovering from them.
How I help my clients during Separation and Divorce
You already understand a lot about what happened in your marriage. You’ve talked it over with friends, replayed the arguments, read the articles, listened to the podcasts, and gone back through the details more times than you’d like to admit.
Understanding what happened doesn’t always change what happens when you’re under pressure.
You can know that your ex is trying to provoke a reaction and still feel your chest tighten when the message arrives. You can know you’re allowed to say no and still agree to a change that doesn’t work for you because you don’t want another argument. You can know you’re doing your best as a parent and still feel like you’ve failed when your child cries before going to the other house.
In counseling, we’ll look at those moments closely. We’ll pay attention to what happens in your body first, what you start telling yourself about what you need to do, and what emotion sits underneath the first reaction.
We’ll also look at the familiar role you step into under pressure: the person who explains, absorbs, accommodates, apologizes, and keeps things from escalating. That role may have helped you survive your marriage. It may have also left you carrying far more than was yours to carry.
Over time, you’ll get better at recognizing when that response is taking over. You’ll have more room to decide what’s actually yours to handle, what belongs to another adult, and how you want to respond before the situation takes over your whole day.
Divorce won’t stop requiring difficult decisions. You’ll still share parenting responsibility with someone you may not trust. You’ll still have to make choices about money, work, schedules, holidays, housing, your children, and your own future without the certainty you once hoped you’d have.
But, I can show you how to stay connected to your own judgment when conflict, guilt, or pressure starts to take over.
Instead of spending hours trying to predict your ex’s reaction, prevent conflict, or find wording that can’t be argued with, you’ll start to recognize when you’re stepping into the old role of emotional manager. You’ll learn to pause before you explain, over-accommodate, apologize, or take responsibility for another adult’s frustration.
That change goes beyond co-parenting communication. It affects how you make decisions about your career, money, housing, parenting, relationships, and the life you want now. You’ll be less likely to hand your own judgment over to fear, guilt, or someone else’s disappointment. You’ll be able to tolerate the discomfort of a conflict without spending the next two days trying to repair the other person’s reaction.
It also changes your capacity as a parent. When you’re not carrying a full day of conflict, vigilance, and mental rehearsal into the evening, you have more room to respond to your children as they are. You can sit with a child’s sadness or anger without treating it as proof that you’ve failed them or that you need to make the feeling disappear immediately.
Over time, your life won’t be organized around the divorce. You’ll be able to grieve what was lost without becoming stuck in it, make choices without reopening them every night, and build routines, relationships, and plans around what matters to you now.
i’m Emily.
About Dr. Emily fornwalt
I’m Emily Fornwalt, PhD, a licensed therapist in North Carolina and an LCMHC-S (license #S6459). I hold a doctorate in counseling from UNC Charlotte and provide individual online counseling for women throughout the state.
I work primarily with professional mothers who are managing work, parenting, co-parenting, and the practical demands of a changing family life. They’re used to being capable, responsible, and prepared. They aren’t looking for another checklist or more advice about how to handle everything better.
My work is emotionally focused and direct. I’ll help you understand the reactions, beliefs, and relationship patterns that shape the way you make decisions, respond to conflict, and carry responsibility.
For more about my background, please click the link below.
How to Get Started in Counseling
I provide online individual counseling for adult women during separation and divorce in Charlotte and all of North Carolina.
All sessions take place by secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth. You’ll need a private place where you can speak freely and a reliable internet connection.
Your first session is a 90-minute paid intake appointment and it costs $450. A paid 90-minute appointment gives us both enough time and information to know if working together will be the right fit long-term.
Ongoing sessions are 45 minutes weekly, and cost $225 per session.
Please note, I don’t bill insurance or provide Superbills.
Choose a day and time for your first 90-minute online session on my secure calendar by clicking the button below. Once you choose your date and time, I will approve your request and email you the new client forms within 1 business day. You’ll review and digitally sign the forms, and then we’ll meet for your scheduled intake session.
Questions About Online Counseling in Charlotte
For more questions about individual counseling during separation and divorce, visit the divorce and separation counseling page.
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No. I provide individual counseling by secure video to women in Charlotte and throughout North Carolina. You can meet from a private location that works for your schedule without adding a commute or office visit to your week.
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Yes. I offer online appointments during regular business hours. Many clients meet from a private location at home or work. You’ll need a place where you can speak freely and a reliable internet connection.
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No. I provide individual counseling for women who are considering separation, going through divorce, or adjusting to life after divorce. I don’t provide couples counseling, co-parenting mediation, or discernment counseling.
Have a practical question before Scheduling? Send me a message below.
If you have a question before you schedule, send it here and I’ll reply personally within two business days. This form is private and secure, so you’re welcome to share as much or as little as you’d like about what’s bringing you to therapy.
This form is only checked during regular business hours, so if you’re in crisis or need help right away, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Thank you for your message.
I’ll reply personally within two business days.
Online Counseling for Women in Charlotte
I provide secure individual online counseling for professional women and mothers in Charlotte, including SouthPark, Myers Park, Dilworth, Ballantyne, Cotswold, Eastover, Plaza Midwood, Elizabeth, Foxcroft, Mountainbrook, Beverly Woods, Madison Park, Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Waxhaw, Matthews, and surrounding Charlotte neighborhoods.
You can meet from a private place at home, at work, or somewhere else where you can speak freely. You’ll need a reliable internet connection and a location where no one can overhear you.
I’m licensed to provide counseling to clients who are physically located in North Carolina at the time of their session. If you travel or move, let me know before we meet so we can determine whether we can continue working together.
Read more about online divorce and separation counseling throughout North Carolina.
For a fuller explanation of my approach to individual counseling during separation and divorce, visit divorce and separation counseling for professional women and mothers.
