A family therapy perspective on mediation

Many times, family therapists are both the first to learn that a couple may separate and the last to see them in the same consultation room, still relating to each other and the same professional before the adversarial system takes over. Mediation offers a viable alternative to that system because clients are helped to speak directly and craft the decisions that will delineate their move toward separate lives. Mediation is defined and the divorce process demystified, and the similarities and differences between mediation and therapy are discussed. Brief examples and a longer case discussion are provided to illustrate the mediation process. A familiarity with this process will enable therapists to hold more informed discussions about mediation with their clients and invite them to consider a process that is congruent with many of the values of family therapy.