Mission Statement
At the Transition Institute of Marin, we provide healing and empowerment for men and women going through the difficult transitions of divorce and separation.
Any life change is difficult but the dissolution of a marriage or long term relationship can have a tremendous and long-lasting impact on one's life.
Our updated tagline is "Guiding People Through Change" TM for two reasons: we assist people as they go through changes in their lives, but we also support people to find personal and inter-personal growth by changing old, out-dated thought habits and behavior patterns.
Who We Work With and Why:
We are happy to work with couples, families, children as well as men and women who are at some stage in the divorce process (contemplating divorce, divorcing or post-divorce). Until recently, we focused primarily on working with women but we have found that there are also many men out there who are looking to find support, receive guidance through the dissolution process and build community.
We have seen that when a marriage is in trouble, most people have a tendency to isolate. They do so partly out of shame, out of not wanting to burden others with their troubles and sometimes as a way to not face the reality that their marriage is in trouble.
Without a doubt, those who reach out for assistance through this tough period in their lives recover better and faster than those who don't. No one needs to experience marital troubles on their own. There are many resources available in the Bay Area. If T.I.M. is not the right agency for you, we will do what we can to provide you with other resources.
Interesting Research About Women and Stress:
Research indicates that women who reach out to other women for support during this tumultuous time tend to have an easier and faster healing process than those who don't. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women. It's a stunning finding that has turned five decades of stress research -- most of it on men -- upside down.
Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just “fight or flight.” “In fact,” says Dr. Klein, “it seems that when the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress response in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this 'tending or befriending,' studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect.”
"This calming response does not occur in men,” says Dr. Klein, “because testosterone -- which men produce in high levels when they're under stress -- seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin.” “Estrogen,” she adds, “seems to enhance it.” For more information on this study, visit the UCLA website at: http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/gender/tendfend.html
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