The Rising Beyond Podcast
If you're trying to protect your children while navigating an abusive ex, this podcast is for you. Because leaving the relationship didn't end the abuse, and no one prepared you for what came next.
The Rising Beyond Podcast is for protective mothers navigating the overwhelming reality of sharing children with someone who continues patterns of manipulation, coercive control, or emotional abuse after separation. Join Sybil Cummin, licensed professional counselor, who has spent the last decade helping survivors and their children navigate this incredibly difficult chapter. Every week, we share trauma-informed education, nervous system insights, protective parenting strategies, and honest conversations about family court, post-separation abuse, and healing, so you can feel more confident, more grounded, and better equipped to protect both your children and yourself.
Whether you're in the middle of family court, struggling with parenting alongside someone who continues patterns of control, or simply trying to become the parent you want to be after everything you've survived, you'll find validation, practical guidance, and hope here.
The Rising Beyond Podcast
Ep 207: How to Create a Parenting Plan That Protects You and Your Kids with Cat Climaco
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What happens when a parenting plan leaves too much room for interpretation?
In this episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest mistakes survivors make during divorce and custody negotiations: agreeing to vague parenting plans that unintentionally create openings for ongoing manipulation, conflict, and coercive control.
I’m joined by Cat Climaco to discuss why detailed, clearly written parenting plans matter so much in high-conflict and abusive co-parenting situations. We break down some of the most common loopholes narcissistic or controlling co-parents exploit, including pick-up and drop-off logistics, extracurricular activities, communication expectations, and what happens when parents with joint decision-making reach an impasse.
We also talk about how to advocate for a more specific parenting plan when attorneys or mediators push back and prefer “standard” or cookie-cutter agreements.
If you’re currently negotiating a parenting plan or struggling with one that feels impossible to navigate, this episode will help you understand why clarity and specificity matter far more than most people realize.
In This Episode We Discuss:
- Common parenting plan loopholes
- Why vague agreements create more conflict
- Decision-making impasse clauses
- Extracurricular and exchange challenges
- Advocating for specificity with attorneys
About Cat: Cat Climaco, Founder of Peaceful Presence Divorce Coaching, is a nationally certified High-Conflict Divorce, Custody, and Co-Parenting Coach, mediator, DASH Risk Assessor, and trauma-informed Colorado Victim's Advocate who specializes in helping protective parents navigate complex, high-conflict family court cases to achieve greater peace and safety in life after divorce. Cat blends professional expertise with lived experience to support parents facing coercive control, post-separation abuse, abusive co-parenting, and cases involving children with additional emotional or developmental needs.
Connect w/ Cat:
https://www.peacefulpresencedivorcecoaching.com
https://www.instagram.com/peacefulpresencedivorcecoach/
https://www.facebook.com/peacefulpresencedivorcecoaching/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catclimaco/
https://www.youtube.com/@PeacefulPresenceDivorceCoach
https://www.peacefulpresencedivorcecoaching.com/workshops-documentation
Register for the Free Webinar Series - Why Co-Parenting Feels Like a Trap here - https://mailchi.mp/risingbeyondpc/coparenting
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