Intelligencer, Bucks County Courier Times
November 1999

PARTING ON GOOD TERMS
BY CAROL GOODALE
Staff Writer

An area attorney says a divorce doesn't have to get messy. That's why she opened a divorce school of sorts- to show the couple how to separate amicably.

What do you do after years of work as a lawyer, observing the hostility and trauma what is so often a part of the process? If you're attorney Keila Gilbert, you study mediation counseling, hire professionals, from psychologists to accountants and open the Alpha Center for Divorce Mediation.

And what do you do when this pioneering concept of interdisciplinary divorce mediation attracts new clients at a staggering rate? You open five additional offices, of course. Two years ago, Gilbert opened Alpha Center in Doylestown. Soon, the client roster doubled, so last year, Gilbert opened offices in Jenkintown, Blue Bell, and Newtown. Then, in 1999, the center opened offices in King of Prussia and Philadelphia.

At the Alpha Center, a divorcing couple consults with a child psychologist, an attorney and an accountant to learn how to cope with life after divorce.

"Alpha means beginning," said Keila Gilbert, the president of Alpha Center. "Divorcing people can be scared and hostile when they start our process, but Alpha Center aids them in making a series of decisions, helps them to see divorce not just as an ending, but the beginning of two new lives."

The Alpha Center projects its client's base to quadruple this year with the addition of its two new offices. With 15,000 people going through divorce proceedings each year in the three-county area of Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks, educating people about the positive benefits of this approach is high priority.

Gilbert and Klitsch will continue to offer introductory presentations about the Alpha Center at local community schools, as well as Bucks County Community College. They also expect to add more sites.

"We believe in this so much, it almost becomes a mission," Klitsch said. "And in the beginning, you wear all the hats. You have to keep giving away hats to keep you sane." It feels good to help, she said.

"This makes a difference in so many lives. People are just so grateful. It's an incredible experience," Gilbert said.