About our SDR Group


Separation Divorce Recovery Group - Charlotte, NC


We are an independent, self-supporting, divorce support group, open to all beliefs (or non-beliefs). We have been meeting every Tuesday night in Charlotte, in one form or another, at one location or another, for well over 20 years! We help people deal with the heartache, sadness and despair (and eventual recovery from) the ending of a primary love relationship. Deep emotional pain is common for most people going through separation and divorce. People who have not personally gone through this process cannot truly comprehend the high levels of trauma, grief, stress, anger and pain involved. Everyone in our group has been through it and does understand. You are NOT alone! We want to help you survive this “life crisis”, break from the past, learn from it, heal yourself and rebuild your life.


Our group is very diverse! Generally including equal numbers of men and women, ranging in age from 30’s up to late 70’s, from all backgrounds and economic conditions. Length of previous relationships vary anywhere from several years up to 40+ years (with an average of 20+ years). Some people come to us recently separated within the last 30 days, or 1 to 3 years separated / divorced, all the way up to 10+ years after divorce. The long-term members help our newer members by sharing what they’ve gone through and learned, what has worked and what hasn’t, along with providing encouragement and hope for the future.


At any given time we have over 80 active members on our email distribution list, and usually 10 or more people in attendance at each weekly meeting. We meet every Tuesday night from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm at Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207, Room M-213 (refer to the Church floor plan on the "Location Details" page). We are partially church sponsored – as they have been very kind to subsidize half of our room rental expenses - so we ask for a $2 per person donation each week you attend in person.


Our group is managed by a Leadership Team made up of 5 people that have been involved with this group for many years. And our meetings are conducted by facilitators that have personally survived divorce and have been doing this work for 10+ years (please see our Group Leaders page for more info). Each meeting usually begins with discussion of an article related to separation, divorce, dating, etc that is sent out in a broadcast email to everyone in our group who has submitted their email address to us. We will also ask if anyone is in “crisis mode” and needs to discuss something specific or ask the group for help. Or, if they have good news to share, or progress being made, they are welcome to share that. We then conduct a group discussion using a book entitled “Rebuilding: When Your Relationship Ends” (written by Bruce Fisher). This book is considered one of the best resources available to help with rebuilding your life, your sanity, your relationships and your future after separation and divorce.


Our group also has periodic social get-togethers at various member houses, at a restaurant, or other venues. We use our email distribution list to announce these events to everyone in advance.


I believe we learn as much from each other sharing our experiences as we do from the book or articles. As renowned psychologist John Bradshaw said “…we can’t effectively grieve alone…” which is why a support group such as ours is so important to the healing process. In our group discussions we tackle anything and everything related to separation and divorce, including; children related issues during divorce, financial issues, emotional issues, loneliness, sexual issues and dating again.

We believe strongly in doing the PERSONAL GROWTH WORK necessary to become an emotionally whole and healthy individual on your own. The idea is to let go of “needing” someone else to validate you. You ARE already all you NEED. It’s part of the normal human condition to “want” to share your life with another person. But it becomes a problem when we are “needy” for this, as in trying to “replace” our lost love with a new person. We encourage people to fully grieve their lost love and recover themselves emotionally before starting a new relationship. It is much healthier to “desire” a partner to share your life with as opposed to “needing” a partner to validate and support you. Approximately a third of our members have been divorced twice (or more) and learned this the hard way.


We hope you will come out and join us!


You can also find us on Meetup.com