“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
serving clients since 1993
FIT’s founder, Dr. Beth Wilner, has been working as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist for over 25 years, providing psychotherapy and counseling services to adolescents, adults, couples and families. Her warm, accepting, down-to-earth approach helps to create an environment in which you will feel safe and free to explore your feelings, fears and struggles. Dr. Wilner combines cognitive-behavioral, family systems, and humanistic approaches in her therapy, and works very collaboratively with each client to develop a treatment plan that is unique and aligned with each individual’s needs.
After many years of working with parents and families who were devastated by acrimonious divorce litigation, Dr. Wilner determined she needed to seek a more proactive way to intervene to help parents determine their own path forward, while protecting the integrity of the co-parenting relationship and the children’s well-being. This led her down a challenging and gratifying path toward developing her skills in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Dr. Wilner has worked as a divorce mediator since 2006, and a Collaborative Divorce Coach and Child Specialist since 2007. She has experienced many profound moments with divorcing couples and their children and witnessed the benefits of avoiding contentious litigation.
Dr. Wilner has also developed several specialized services that are designed to assist clients and their attorneys when complex issues arise in a case including: significant mental health concerns, substance abuse and behavioral addictions, and personality pathology. As an expert consultant, Dr. Wilner provides guidance and recommendations regarding the drafting of “safety plans” for substance abuse issues, and “step-up parenting plans,” in situations in which one parent requires either supervision, parent coaching, or simply time to develop the skills and competency necessary for single parenting. She is also court appointed as a Parenting Coordinator, working with high conflict co-parents who need case management, oversight of their parenting agreements, mediation services, and when necessary, arbitration of parenting disputes.
A highly sought after speaker and trainer, Dr. Wilner presents seminars and trainings to attorneys, judges, mental health professionals and financial specialists on a range of divorce-related topics including: Collaborative Divorce, Parent-Child Resistance and Refusal Issues, Narcissism and Narcissistic Abuse, Substance Abuse and Behavioral Addictions, and Domestic Violence. She is a core faculty trainer for the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois (CLII), providing a 2-day training course for attorneys, mental health professionals and financial specialists, and sits on the Board of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), Illinois Chapter, currently serving as Vice President.
Bio
Dr. Wilner is a licensed clinical psychologist and mediator, who has been in private practice since 1993. She is the founder of Families in Transition, Inc. (FIT), a comprehensive psychology practice offering a wide range of clinical, consulting, and conflict resolution services. A sought after speaker and educator, Dr. Wilner regularly provides both community-based and professional seminars on a wide array of topics. She provides highly specialized services to high-conflict and distressed divorcing families including: divorce and post-decree mediation, parenting coordination, parent-child reunification therapy, and group therapy for women divorcing partners with narcissistic traits.
Dr. Wilner received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology, with highest honors. She has been trained and certified in mediation by the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) and received additional advanced training in Family and Divorce Mediation through DePaul University’s Center For Dispute Resolution. She has also completed the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois’ (CLII), Interdisciplinary Collaborative Family Law Training, and has been a core faculty member of CLII’s Interdisciplinary Basic Training Program, which trains attorneys, mental health professionals and financial specialists in the process of collaborative divorce. In addition, Dr. Wilner has advanced training in Parenting Coordination, an innovative alternative dispute resolution model for high conflict divorced parents. She is currently serving on the Board of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), Illinois Chapter.
a little more . . .
Beyond her passion for her work, Dr. Wilner loves music and is a drummer and vocalist in a band, enjoys swimming and running, and treasures her time with her husband, two children and one spectacular Schnoodle.