FROM NASTY TO HEALTHY DIVORCE: A MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY MODEL FOR WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH DIVORCING MALAY-MUSLIM COUPLES

Divorce happens and it can happen to any married couples across cultures and contexts. In most societies, people tend to perceive divorce negatively. Hence, it becomes a negative concept or generally associated with the term “nasty divorce”. In truth, there are always two sides to a coin. This means that a divorce can be a nasty and destructive, or it can be what we would call a “healthy divorce”. In this paper, several theoretical perspectives on divorce and its consequences are explored to shed light on the changing societal view of divorce - from a nasty one to a healthy concept – in the Malaysian context. Informed by our understanding of these multiple perspectives and drawing on a real-life case scenario and life-cycle process on marriage and family therapy (MFT), a conceptual model for working effectively with Malay-Muslim clients in Malaysia is proposed. Some issues and challenges in the current practice of MFT in Malaysia are included.