Lead Through Law, Culture, and Compassion
Where Justice Meets Wellness
At Gowthorpe Therapists, we believe that law and healing are not opposites — they are partners. In the world of high-conflict divorce, where emotional pain often collides with legal process, this partnership becomes essential.
Across my career — from Blue Sky Family Care and Bayfield Treatment Centres to the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Memorial University, and the Trillium Foundation — I have worked at the delicate intersection of law, psychology, and human behaviour. In every role, my goal has been to ensure that justice serves human well-being, not just legal outcomes.
When Conflict Becomes the System
Families in crisis often find themselves trapped in systems that mirror their own conflict. Adversarial processes can magnify fear, shame, and anger — especially for children. But conflict doesn’t have to define the path forward. Through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence, we can reimagine legal systems as spaces of accountability, empathy, and repair.
Therapeutic jurisprudence teaches us that every rule, hearing, and decision has an emotional impact. By acknowledging this, professionals across disciplines — lawyers, clinicians, judges, and social workers — can align toward a shared goal: resolution that heals rather than harms.
The Children at the Centre
As a clinical member of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer for over two decades, I’ve seen firsthand how children experience conflict and how their needs can be eclipsed by adult agendas. The child’s perspective must remain the compass point of any intervention. Their safety, attachment, and voice are not secondary considerations — they are the foundation of justice itself.
When children feel seen and heard, their healing begins. When parents are supported to understand the emotional dimensions of conflict, even the most entrenched cases can begin to move toward restoration.
Law as a Structure for Healing
In my practice at Gowthorpe Therapists, I bring together statutory authority, clinical insight, and organizational leadership to support families through these transitions. Our approach is trauma-informed, child-centred, and collaborative — helping parents and professionals navigate conflict with clarity, compassion, and courage.
We work to ensure that every decision reflects both legal integrity and emotional intelligence — because the true measure of justice is not simply compliance, but wellness.
A Call for Systems That Heal
When law and therapy work together, families can rebuild trust — not only in each other but in the systems meant to protect them. It is here, in this overlap between structure and empathy, that we find what justice was always meant to be: a process that protects, restores, and strengthens the human spirit.
About the Author
Sharlene Weitzman, MSW, RSW, CPT-S, LLM
Senior Therapist & Head of Legal Services,
Gowthorpe Therapists
Sharlene Weitzman is a clinician, legal scholar, and educator specializing in high-conflict divorce, children’s rights, and therapeutic jurisprudence. With over two decades of leadership across child welfare, mental health, and family law systems, she helps families and professionals navigate complex transitions through approaches that unite legal integrity with emotional wellness. Her work focuses on building trauma-informed, child-centred practices where justice and healing can coexist.
