MEDIA RELEASE
Because of the value we in Hawaii place on our marriages, and due to our desire to maintain one of the nation’s lowest divorce rates, a conference aimed at saving marriages has been planned for the islands.
Dr. Kai Swigart, president of the Hawaii Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (HAMFT), explains why his organization is bringing Dr. William Doherty, a leading expert on saving marriages, to Hawaii in March.
“Our marriages are the foundation upon which our ohanas are built, and we want to strengthen them to help them better withstand the many storms of life,†he said.
According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Mo., “50 percent of first marriages, 67 percent of second and 74 percent of third marriages end in divorce.â€
“This state has consistently had a low divorce rate. Between 2005 and 2007, 9.4 percent of the people in Hawaii were divorced. And in 2008, the divorce rate in Hawaii was just 9.1 percent, making it one of the five lowest nationwide,†according to Mainstreet.com.
Similar findings are reported by the Wall Street Journal analysis, the National Vital Statistics Report, and the U.S. Census Bureau.
On Sept. 24, 2011 USA Today staff writer Sharon Jayson reported, in her story entitled Some Couples Pull Back from the Edge of Divorce, “The DeRosias, like so many couples, were teetering on the brink of divorce. The angst of such a major decision is very real. But little is known about how people actually decide — or why, like the DeRosias, they sometimes change their minds. New research offers the first inklings of understanding — and shows that there’s uncertainty even among couples who have already filed for divorce. Adding to the confusion is the financial reality that a split is expensive. Census data released last week suggest the economy has indeed caused a dip in divorce. Some experts predict a divorce explosion when the economy improves, but others say the recession may keep some together long enough to work it out.â€
“There’s a whole lot more ambivalence out there than any of us ever thought,’ said Doherty, a marriage and family therapist and professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota.
He will present results of his survey in Washington next month, expanding on his research published last spring.
“As a culture, we should consider it irresponsible to end a marriage, particularly one with children, unless that couple has gone all out to get help,†Doherty said.
The HAMFT is bringing Doherty to Hawaii for conferences March 16 in Honolulu and March 17 in Hilo. The University of Hawaii, the Salvation Army, and the Institute on Violence, Abuse, andTrauma are co-sponsoring these events.
Whether a therapist, clergy member, family law attorney, family physician, or interested couple; these conferences promise cutting edge solutions for couples on the brink of divorce.
— Find out more:
www.hamft.net
