Lee Raffel, LCSW,
author of Should I Stay or Go? How Controlled Separation® Can Save Your Marriage.  She has over 30 years experience as a private practice couples’ therapist. A clinical member of AAMFT, Lee has developed a 90% success rate in saving marriages of couples on the cusp of divorce.

Elsie Radtke, MEd,
 Associate Director of Family Ministries and Divorce and Annulment Support Ministry Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Coordinator of Divorce & Annulment Support Ministry, marriage educator, relationship coach, mediator, and stepfamily coach.  Elsie recently revised the popular Divorce & Beyond book for divorce recovery. 

Our purpose

Our purpose is to prevent divorce whenever possible. Couples on the Cusp®, ambivalent and undecided partners, are taught Stay or Go Techniques®  that are relevant to their marital situation. Marriage educators discover the importance of honoring their client’s ambivalence.  A negotiated Controlled Separation®  contract provides a structure that assists Couples on the Cusp® in slowing down and cooling down in order to make a sane decision and have fewer regrets.

This practical intervention in working with couples encourages cooperation, as adversaries become advocates. In this way hope is restored and couples are  energized and inspired to reclaim their integrity and recommit to each other. In turn, children and families are spared undue trauma.