Do you also work with us together, as ex-partners?

No. I deliberately work with one of the two. As soon as both ex-partners sit at the table, a tension arises of being right, winning and losing. By stabilising one person, everything around them stabilises. Does your ex-partner also want guidance? I am happy to refer them to a colleague.

Are you a lawyer, mediator or psychologist?

I am your confidant. A lawyer defends your position, a mediator safeguards the agreements, a psychologist works on your inner world — each a piece. I work on the whole: how those pieces affect each other, and what they mean for the rest of your life. My legal background ensures you understand what is going on. Where specialist help is needed, I refer you on.

What if I don't have children?

Then that domain simply falls away. The programme is always tailor-made. A divorce without children is not lighter.

How long does a programme take?

That varies. The basis is a series of offsites with a one-hour check-in every two weeks in between — for most people a programme of several months in total. Where you stand determines the rest. We clarify that in the introductory conversation.

What is the investment?

We discuss the investment during the intake conversation, so you know exactly what you are getting.

Is everything I share confidential?

Yes. What you share with me stays between us. That is the foundation of trust, and the reason this work works.

A kayak gliding across calm water, seen from above in soft sunlight

Confidant in divorce

Who are you, when everything changes?

As your confidant, I navigate with you through the deep transformation of a divorce. I support you, challenge you and help you find new footing, in the short and the long term. Legally and practically clear, humanly close and sustainable.

Book an intake conversation How I work

This is navigation. Not therapy.

And that is exactly why people work with me. This is not a clinical programme. I work on reorientation, growth, identity and direction: focused on the future, with attention for the past. I stand beside you, I bring calm and I order the chaos, also on the legal and practical side.

I navigate you through an existential transformation, grounded in expertise, experience and humanity.

What if I fall? What if you don’t? What if you fly?

When a caterpillar enters the cocoon, she lets go of her old form. Inside, she becomes liquid: nothing remains recognisable. That is what a divorce feels like, roles, rhythm and identity shift, and nothing is as it was.

That liquid phase looks like chaos, but it is space. Space in which the new gathers. Slowly, direction emerges, structure, a future that has no name yet but already becomes tangible.

When the cocoon breaks open, the caterpillar unfolds her wings. You too take shape again. And only then does it become clear: the change was not an ending, but the beginning of a life consciously chosen.

The moment of change becomes the space in which you reorient your life and shape it consciously.

Who this is for

Perhaps this sounds familiar.

I know exactly what I need to do. I just no longer know who I am.
I have to decide about my house and my money now, while I am barely sleeping.
Suddenly there is no room for my grief with my ex. Our communication is limited to practicalities and the children.
I don't understand what is happening legally, and I don't have the energy to figure it out.
I function. But I have no idea where I am heading.
I am well surrounded and everyone means well, but nobody is in my situation. I feel alone.

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Portrait of Michèle Duyck, confidant in divorce

About me

I am Michèle.

Lawyer. Dealmaker. Raised in the corporate world, among boardrooms, deals and deadlines. That world sharpened me. Life softened me. And honestly: those two get along surprisingly well through one door.

I have been through a divorce myself, in all its layers. And I am the mother of a small human with big opinions, who shows me every day that my heart cheerfully walks around the house and no longer sits only in my chest.

My compass does not come from a handbook. It comes from life itself: from what has touched me, from the pieces I have had to reshape, from what I have let go of along the way.

Approach

What do I believe in?

I deliberately work with one of the two

A divorce moves with the person who remains the clearest, calmest and most mature. When you choose direction, choose not to escalate, choose mature communication, new momentum emerges, and that momentum carries through into everything. You don't have to wait for the other person to change. You only have to steady yourself. That is why I work with you.

“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” - Lao Tzu

I work towards the future

Your life after a divorce should not be repaired, but rearranged. Not back to how it was, but forward. We build your direction, your choices, your identity, so that your future aligns with who you are becoming.

“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” - Alan Watts

I work outside the classic framework

A divorce never lives in pieces. Emotions, communication, arrangements and legal reality intertwine. I work integrally: emotionally, practically, relationally and legally informed. As the confidant of your divorce, with one focus: your growth, your direction, your identity. And when specialised intervention is needed, I refer you on.

"Thinking without a banister" - Hannah Arendt

I work on the part you can actually control

There is one domain that is entirely yours: how you speak, respond, set boundaries, decide and build. That is where I work. That is where calm emerges, escalation stops and you regain your grip.

"You can't always control the wind, but you can control your sails." - Dr. Bob Chope

The programme

Finding direction again.

Two timelines and someone standing beside you.

Short term

Calm in the crisis

Getting the administrative and legal side in order. Landing emotionally. Creating a first sense of calm.

What needs to happen in the coming four weeks?

Long term

Building your new world

Working on the new reality. A sustainable harmony for the future.

Where do you want to stand when the storm has passed?

“TURN THE MOMENT INTO YOUR FRIEND AND ALLY, NOT YOUR ENEMY.
IT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE IN A WONDERFUL WAY.”
— Eckhart Tolle

Frequently asked questions

Contact

Let's start with a conversation.

Every programme starts with an intake conversation. No sales pitch, no obligation — just a meeting in which we explore together whether there is a match.

Email: michele.duyck@outlook.com
I reply within two working days.