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Child Specialist

My name is Valerie Anne Demming and I am a Mental Health Professional and Child Specialist with Alaska Association of Collaborative Professionals. I am an experienced therapist who has worked with children, adolescents, individuals, couples, and families for the last 25 years. I was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska and attended college at University of Alaska Fairbanks and graduated with a Bachelors in Education with a minor in Psychology in 1975. In 1984 I graduated with a Masters in Community Counseling with a certification in Elementary School Counseling. I was employed as an elementary teacher for thirteen years and ten years as an Elementary School Counselor in the Fairbanks area. After moving to Anchorage in 2002, I attended Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center graduating with my Doctorate in Psychology in 2009. I have operated my Private Counseling Practice since 1993 in Fairbanks and now in Anchorage. I have extensive knowledge in the area of child development and behavior. I have worked in the counseling setting with numerous children whose parents are in the process of divorcing or have obtained a divorce. I have additional training from The Grief and Loss Center in Ft. Collins Colorado, which has been invaluable with my work with children, and adults who have gone through or are going through the divorce process. My work for my doctorate was focused on Self-Injury of female adolescents. I have counseled many teens, male and female, that have chosen this behavior to cope with life stressors. Another focus of my practice is working with clients that have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. I appreciate and am dedicated to working with the other professionals and clients in the Collaborative divorce process as we work together to assist our clients in a dignified and civil manner to come together to make decisions concerning their lives.

J. Stefan Otterson

Lawyer, Mediator

I am glad you are looking into Collaborative Law. The beauty of collaborative work is that all the time, expense, and energy is focused on stabilizing the situation and then developing a forward looking plan for the parties. I have practiced law in Anchorage for 30 years, and throughout that period, I have worked to develop skills to resolve conflict without litigation. My experience includes commercial, employment, administrative, mental health, medicaid, family law, probate and guardianships, adoptions, child protection, child advocacy and juvenile delinquency. I mediate in these and other areas, and offer collaborative legal representation in all areas of family law. After many years as a litigator, I have recently restricted my practice to mediation and Collaborative Law only. (I’ll still provide out-of-court legal advice, and I will litigate compelling cases involving child welfare, but only one at a time.) I have made this change because I want my time to be productive and I’ve seen too much waste in family law litigation. Second, litigation tends to elbow out all other priorities. I want to be able to focus on helping people solve their own problems, and that requires a different mindset. It’s possible to switch back and forth between fighting and calming troubled waters, but it’s not easy. I don’t want to bring the tension from someone else’s fight into the room with your mediation or collaborative case. I strongly recommend that separating or divorcing couples consider the collaborative approach as the most dependable way to achieve a fair resolution and a working plan for the future. It is sometimes less expensive, and it is ALWAYS less damaging and more efficient and productive than litigation. My training relating to collaborative law: 2020 IACP Educational Forum, remotely presented International Faculty 5+ hrs / 2018 IACP Institute & Educational Forum, Seattle WA, International Faculty, 19hrs / 2017 Advance Collaborative Team Training, Liz Ferris 12hrs / 2016 Your Biases: How it Affects Your Clients & Judicial Decision Making, Jeff Rachlinski 3hrs / 2015 Managing & Mediating High Conflict Disputes, Bill Eddy, 12hrs / 2014 Advanced Collaborative Team Training, Linda Solomon, Melinda Eitzen & Scott Clarke, 14hrs / 2014 Divorce Skills & Advanced Divorce Skills, Larry Rice, 13hrs / 2014 IACP Educational Forum, Vancouver BC International Faculty 19hrs / 2013 Advanced Collaborative Team Training, AACP, 5 / 2012 Working with Allied Collaborative Professionals, AACP, 7hrs / 2011 Advanced Collaborative Training, AACP, 5 / 2010 Advanced Collaborative Law Training, AACP, 5hrs / 2010 Appellate Mediation in Federal and State Courts, Alaska Bar Assoc., 2.5hrs / 2009 Advanced Collaborative Law Training, Mariette Geldenhuys, 7hrs / 2008 Basic Collaborative Law Training, Sue Brunsting, Mariette Geldenhuys, 14hrs / 2008 Divorce Mediation Training, Zena Zumeta, 24hrs / 2005 CINA Mediation Training, Bernie Mayer, 28hrs / 2002 Conflict Resolution Training, Bernie Mayer, CDR Assoc. 21hrs / 2001 Mediation Training Mary Margaret Golten, CDR Assoc. 40hrs www.aklaw.pro

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