Kate Scharff

Kate Scharff
Born
Katherine E. Scharff
Alma materFranklin & Marshall College (BA)
Columbia University School of Social Work (MS)
OccupationsPsychotherapist, author
Known forWe Need to Talk About Divorce
SpouseDoug Lederman
Parent(s)David E. Scharff
Jill Savege Scharff
Websitekatescharff.com

Kate Scharff is an American psychotherapist and author based in Bethesda, Maryland. She is the author of Therapy Demystified (2004), co-author with psychologist Lisa Herrick, PhD of two American Bar Association guides for divorce professionals, and author of the children's nonfiction book We Need to Talk About Divorce (2025), which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. She practices individual, couple and family psychotherapy and works as a collaborative divorce coach and child specialist and family mediator.

Early life and education

Scharff is the daughter of psychoanalyst David E. Scharff, M.D. and the step-daughter of psychoanalyst Jill Savege Scharff, M.D., co-founders of the International Psychotherapy Institute. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College in 1986 and a Master of Science in social work from the Columbia University School of Social Work in 1989.

Career

Scharff is a founding board member and past president of the DC Academy of Collaborative Professionals and a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She was founding faculty of the Collaborative Practice Training Institute and a founding board member of the pro bono collaborative law projects of Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

With Lisa Herrick, PhD she wrote Navigating Emotional Currents in Collaborative Divorce: A Guide to Enlightened Team Practice (American Bar Association, 2010), which addresses how marital dynamics and prior trauma are re-enacted within the collaborative process. The book has been cited in legal scholarship on Collaborative Law, including in the Maryland Law Review. Scharff and Herrick's second co-authored volume, Mastering Crucial Moments in Separation and Divorce: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Excellence in Practice and Outcome, was published by the ABA in 2016.

In 2012 Washingtonian included Scharff in its list of recommended couples therapists in the Washington area, compiled from recommendations by peers and divorce attorneys.

From 2018 to 2024 Scharff hosted the podcast Divorce on Planet Earth.

Writing

Scharff's first book, Therapy Demystified: An Insider's Guide to Getting the Right Help, Without Going Broke, was published by Marlowe & Company in 2004. Her journal article "Therapeutic supervision with families of high-conflict divorce" appeared in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies in 2004, and she has contributed chapters to edited volumes including Tuning the Therapeutic Instrument (Jason Aronson, 2000), New Paradigms for Treating Relationships (Jason Aronson, 2007), Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy (Routledge, 2014), and An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (Karnac, 2024)

We Need to Talk About Divorce: An Important Book About Separation, Stepfamilies, and Feeling Heard, illustrated by Annika Le Large, was published in March, 2025 by Neon Squid, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. Aimed at readers aged roughly 8 to 14, the book is arranged chronologically from a child's first reaction to a separation through new living arrangements, stepfamilies and parental dating. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, calling it "optimistic, empathetic, and nuanced—in short, required reading for young people navigating divorce." School Library Journal also awarded a starred review, describing it as "both compassionate and comprehensive." The book was recommended by BookTrust and Children's Books Ireland, named to the Children's Book Council's 2026 Teacher Favorites list, selected for the Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year, and included in Oprah Daily's list of the best divorce books for children. It has been translated into Spanish (Hablemos del divorcio, Editorial Contrapunto), Estonian (Me peame rääkima lahutusest, Julius Press, 2026), and Dutch (We moeten het hebben over scheiden, Boycott).

Personal life

Scharff is married to Doug Lederman, co-founder of Inside Higher Ed and founder of Lederman Advisory Services and they live in Bethesda, Maryland.

References

  1. 1 2 WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DIVORCE | Kirkus Reviews.
  2. ↑ "Therapy Demystified: An Insider's Guide to Getting the Right Help Without Going Broke by Kate Scharff". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  3. ↑ "Navigating Emotional Currents in Collaborative Divorce: A Guide to Enlightened Team Practice". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  4. ↑ Wichard-Edds, Adrienne (2014-02-14). "Who's Afraid of Marriage Therapy? - Washingtonian". Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  5. 1 2 "Kate Scharff". Hachette Book Group. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  6. ↑ "IACP". collaborativepractice.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  7. 1 2 "TEN QUESTIONS FOR LISA HERRICK AND KATE SCHARFF - The World of Collaborative Practice". Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  8. 1 2 "Kate Scharff, LCSW-C, LICSW, LCSW - D.C. Academy of Collaborative Professionals". www.collaborativepracticedc.com. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  9. ↑ https://americanbar.org/content/dam/aba-cms-dotorg/products/inv/book/214340/auth-5130177.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  10. ↑ "Navigating Emotional Currents In Collaborative Divorce - The World of Collaborative Practice". Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  11. ↑ Rebouché, Rachel (2017-06-01). "A Case Against Collaboration". Maryland Law Review. 76 (3): 547. ISSN 0025-4282.
  12. ↑ Scharff, Kate; Herrick, Lisa (2016). Mastering Crucial Moments in Separation and Divorce: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Excellence in Practice and Outcome. ABA, Section of Family Law. ISBN 978-1-63425-408-3.
  13. ↑ "Mastering Crucial Moments in Separation and Divorce: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Excellence in Practice and Outcome". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  14. ↑ Giglio, Karina (2012-12-14). "Recommended Couples Therapists: Want to Talk About It? - Washingtonian". Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  15. ↑ "Divorce on Planet Earth: Real World Advice for Well-Intentioned Humans". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  16. ↑ "How to survive and thrive through divorce to a new life chapter | Psyche Guides". psyche.co. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  17. ↑ Scharff, Kate (2004-11-18). Therapy Demystified: An Insider's Guide to Getting the Right Help, Without Going Broke. Marlowe & Company. ISBN 978-1-56924-423-4.
  18. ↑ Scharff, Katherine E. (2004-09-01). "Therapeutic supervision with families of high-conflict divorce". International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. 1 (3). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: 269–281. doi:10.1002/aps.78. ISSN 1556-9187.
  19. ↑ Scharff, Jill Savege; Scharff, David E. (2006). New paradigms for treating relationships. Lanham, Md: Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-0-7657-0437-5.
  20. ↑ Scharff, Kate (2018-05-01), Scharff, David E.; Scharff, Jill Savege (eds.), "Divorce and parenting wars", Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy (1 ed.), Routledge, pp. 279–294, doi:10.4324/9780429478901-25, ISBN 978-0-429-47890-1, retrieved 2026-10-16{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  21. ↑ "An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy by Jill Savege Scharff". Karnac Books. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  22. ↑ https://firingthemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Scharff_Intro_Prelims.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  23. ↑ We Need to Talk About Divorce by Kate Scharff. ISBN 978-1-916745-02-5.
  24. ↑ "We Need to Talk About Divorce". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  25. 1 2 Kate, Scharff. "We Need to Talk About Divorce: An IMPORTANT book About Separation, Stepfamilies, and Feeling Heard". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  26. ↑ "We Need to Talk About Divorce". BookTrust. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  27. ↑ "We Need to Talk About Divorce | Childrens Books Ireland". childrensbooksireland.ie. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  28. ↑ "Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins—The First Lady of Children's Music". cbcbooks.org. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  29. ↑ "10 Therapist-Approved Divorce Books to Help Kids Feel Reassured and Less Alone". Oprah Daily. 2026-08-26. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  30. ↑ "Hablemos del divorcio". Editorial Contrapunto (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  31. ↑ "Me peame rääkima lahutusest". Julius Press kirjastus (in Estonian). Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  32. ↑ "We moeten het hebben over scheiden". Uitgeverij Boycott (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  33. ↑ "Doug Lederman | Inside Higher Ed". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  34. ↑ "Fall 2021 - Affordable Degrees-at-Scale Symposium" (PDF).