Self-guided online course
Reclaiming Strength Through Separation
Eight weeks of structured support you move through privately, at your own pace, in your own order. Nobody sees that you are taking it.
I am Jess Drayton, a separation coach in Wellington. I built this course out of what I needed after my own separation and could not find in one place.
NZ$399One payment, or Afterpay or Klarna at checkout. Ongoing access to everything.
In brief
Reclaiming Strength Through Separation is an eight week self-guided online course for mothers, created by Jess Drayton. It costs NZ$399 as a single payment and includes ongoing access.
Four modules cover emotional grounding, the practicalities of separation in New Zealand, supporting children, and shaping what comes next. Each module has short video lessons, worksheets and reflection prompts, plus a journalling workbook and a full course workbook.
What you get
- Full access to four modules across an eight week course
- Short video lessons you can pause and return to
- The Zest Life Journalling Workbook, with guided prompts
- The Zest Life Course Workbook, with exercises and templates
- A budget planning template built for a separating household
- Video guidance from me on grounding and breathing practices
- Printable cheat sheets, planners and reflection pages
- Ongoing access, so you can return whenever you need to
- Afterpay and Klarna available at checkout
Who it is for
This course is for you if you value privacy, flexibility and the ability to come back to something months later when it finally makes sense.
It suits women who would rather not be in a room with anyone yet. It suits women whose weeks are too unpredictable to commit to a fixed session time. It suits women who want to read a module at eleven at night, because that is the only quiet hour there is.
If what would help most is talking to a person, one to one sessions start with a free 25 minute conversation. If you want other women alongside you, the live group programme covers the same material with weekly facilitated sessions.
The four modules
What you move through, and in what order
The order matters. Grounding comes before decisions, because a flooded system decides badly. You can still move around once you are in.
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Module one, weeks one and two
Grounding after separation
Finding your feet when the ground has shifted. Why your body reads separation as a threat, and what regulating your nervous system actually looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. Understanding the grief cycle so the swings stop feeling like failure. Practical tools for emotional overload.
Includes an emotional self-check worksheet, a grounding cheat sheet and the Dear Future Me journalling page.
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Module two, weeks three and four
Navigating the practicalities
Clarity without the overwhelm. Your financial landscape, including income, costs, child support and what government support exists. Insurance, KiwiSaver and your will, so the things people put off are covered. Parenting time models explained side by side. Separation, relationship property and legal process in plain English, written for New Zealand.
Includes an editable budget template, parenting time planners, a legal preparation checklist and a practical folder checklist.
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Module three, weeks five and six
Supporting children through separation
Children do not need a perfect parent. They need a regulated one. This module covers what is happening for children at different ages, and why big feelings show up as behaviour. Scripts and frameworks for the conversations you are dreading. Co-parenting with clarity and calm, including parallel parenting where communication is hard. Red flags, and when to seek extra support.
Includes conversation scripts, printable anchors and routines for children, and New Zealand support resources.
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Module four, weeks seven and eight
Life by design
Rebuilding with intention rather than perfection. Clarifying your values and narrowing them to the few that guide decisions. Emotional goal setting, which starts with how you want to feel. Reframing child-free time. Designing a weekly rhythm that survives a hard week.
This is the module about getting your zest back. Not as a feeling you wait for, but as something you build through small actions until it returns.
Includes a values worksheet, a guided future vision audio, and a weekly rhythm template.
Common questions
Before you enrol
How long does the course take?
It is designed across eight weeks, roughly two weeks per module. You control the pace.
Some women move through it in a fortnight. Others take six months. Access does not expire, so you can leave a module and come back when it becomes relevant.
What is the difference between the course and the group programme?
The content is the same. The self-guided course is private and self-paced, with no facilitator. The group programme adds eight weekly live two hour sessions that I facilitate, alongside a small group of other women.
Is the course relevant outside New Zealand?
Modules one, three and four apply anywhere. Module two covers money, care arrangements and legal process, and that material is written for New Zealand.
Women in Australia and elsewhere still find module two a useful map of what to look into, though the local rules will differ.
Do I need to have already separated?
No. Women take this while still deciding, in the first raw weeks, and years afterwards when something surfaces again. Nothing in it assumes a particular stage or a decision already made.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes. Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout, so you can spread the cost rather than paying it all at once.
Do I have to do it in order?
The order is deliberate and I would start at module one. Once you are in, you can move around freely. If the practical side is what is keeping you awake, go straight to module two.
Will anyone know I am taking it?
No. There is no group, no forum and no shared list. It is yours.
Begin whenever you are ready
There is no cohort to wait for and no start date to miss. If you would rather ask a question first, book a free 25 minute conversation and I will answer it honestly.