Hi! I’m Dori Braddell, The Divorce Mentor.

Filling my bucket daily by supporting others that are facing this transition is an honor and one of many found silver linings to having my own difficult divorce. In 2019, fresh out of my own high conflict divorce, navigating a career change and thirsty to find work with meaning, the idea of The Divorce Mentor was formed. I had an earlier career as a C.O.O.  and entrepreneur in the hospitality industry. I had also enjoyed a decade as a stay-at-home mom racing through my days as a school volunteer, homemaker and hockey “mom-ager”. I felt an undeniable urge to find work in the divorce field even though I had no experience with the typical professions on the divorce team like family law, accounting or mental health. 

 

The thing is, I had great divorce professionals on my team when I divorced including amazing lawyers, financial experts, parenting coordinators and my rock of a therapist. Still, I knew there was a gap, a piece missing between the pros that I used, an empty seat at the table. The role that I was missing was the one that was there to support me (just me) with the whole big picture. To be a sounding board for the endless hard to make decisions and help me make choices and plans for all the action steps. To help me stay confidently in the driver’s seat of my divorce not delegate my life to a professional and challenge my thinking when emotions replaced logic. To prep me for stressful processes so I could feel empowered and regulated. To tease out my core values and desires for my future and help me keep my eye on the prize so to speak.  I had needed a project manager, conductor, guide, mentor, coach…A DIVORCE SHERPA! 

 

A sherpa is familiar with the path and the route choices and is keenly aware of some of the obstacles ahead. They have experience, tools, and insider knowledge. They’ve walked along side many others struggling with the mental challenge of doubt, insecurity and the temptation to give up their goal. The climber is the only one that can get themselves to the summit but the support of their sherpa guide can be the difference in their success at a feat greater than they have ever experienced. 

 

That was the inspiration for the role, the “empty seat” I wanted to fill for my clients and now get to.My best days are the days I hear from clients that they turned a corner in their conflict or their negotiations and got to their “summit” after all the fear and doubt and obstacles along the way. That’s my silver lining. 

 

I haven’t looked back since 2019, voraciously consuming the very best training and certifications available and maxing out my calendar serving local, national and international clients every day. I have worked one on one with hundreds of private coaching clients and have met hundreds more through the divorce group programs that I regularly moderate. It’s an honor to have a thriving business grown from word-of-mouth recommendations and steady referrals from lawyers and other divorce professionals that trust me to be a source of support for their clients. 

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I am fiercely committed to the professional practice of divorce coaching, a field in its infancy in Canada. I participate in on-going continuing education and case consultation groups, carry E&O and liability insurance and adhere to a code of ethics. I consistently advocate for the awareness of the profession and give presentations for both people experiencing divorce and those working with them professionally. My goal is to not only save my clients time, money and stress but to make divorce coaching a top of mind and available resource for anyone experiencing divorce. 

 

On the personal side of things...

I’m mom to two amazing (if I do say so myself) teenage boys. I’m often covered in dog hair courtesy of my fluffy lap dog Nike. I have lived in Edmonton for over 30 years but was raised in a tiny prairie town named Wawanesa (yes, home of the insurance company). I love watching my son play basketball but I’m a die-hard hockey fan first (Go Oilers!). Yard work is my go-to stress reducer and I’m admittedly obsessed with my hydrangeas, peonies and other pretty things. I’m a podcast junkie and besides business and personal development content I listen to far too much Dateline. I am not very competitive except for a fierce family rivalry over “name that tune”, and recently backgammon too. I believe in belief (thank you Ted Lasso) and one of my favorite sayings is “everything is figureoutable” because that about sums up my approach to life.