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In mediation, a mediator will facilitate a conversation between two or more people to help them resolve a dispute. Mediators are neutral, and will not make decisions for you. They are trained to establish and maintain a safe, confidential, communicative process, and to help participants reach an agreement on their own. The process is informal and private, making mediation much less stressful than court proceedings. And without any costly or lengthy court time, mediation saves you time and money.

• Mediation is Effective
• Mediation is Affordable
• Mediation is Timely
• Mediation is Accessible

Being prepared for family mediation will help make the process be effective and cost-efficient. As a mediator, I can help you identify what you need to be as prepared as possible.

Family estrangement (or, simply, estrangement) is the loss of a previously existing relationship between family members. Often to the extent that there is little or no communication between the individuals involved for a prolonged period. Estrangements can be the result of; traumatic experiences of domestic violence, abuse, neglect, parental misbehaviour, attachment disorders, differing values and beliefs, disappointment, major life events or change, or poor communication. The estrangement is often unwanted, or considered unsatisfactory by at least one party involved.

“How do I cope with a family estrangement?”  – Family estrangements can be painful, challenging, sometimes heart-breaking, world-altering, and certainly complex. Rarely is cutting someone out of your life (or being cut out of another’s life) a simple thing, especially when you are still trying to preserve some contact with other members of the family and they with you. In an ideal world, estranged individuals try to seek out family counselling to deal with the strain between them. However, we don’t live in an ideal world. More often than not, because we can’t get families to join us in counselling (and perhaps, even when it’s logistically possible, it’s simply not safe to do so), the work of coping with family estrangement falls to the individual.

Sometimes, if it is safe to do so, a clearing of the air through mediation can resolve family estrangements.

A conflict coach works with you one-on-one to help you deal with conflict more effectively. This can happen alone or in combination with another process like mediation or negotiation. A conflict coach can help you clarify your situation, develop strategies for handling the conflict, prepare you for challenging conversations and increase your competence and confidence.

Conflict coaching provides a set of skills and strategies used to support peoples’ ability to manage, engage in, or productively resolve conflict.  Conflict coaching is a one-on-one experience that will give you the tools to deal with disagreements. Conflict coaching enables the person to talk through the conflict with a neutral third party, consider options for managing the conflict, and design an approach to discuss the conflict with the other person.  Conflict coaching can be used as a stand-alone process, or can be practiced with each of the parties in separate meetings during mediation.

Conflict resolution can be applied to varying situations, such as workplace conflict, or more commonly Divorce Conflict Resolution.

My goal is to help you make personal progress in three ways:

1. Clarify & Discover your personal values, goals, and motives; express yourself in a non-defensive manner; and explore ways to fairly decide between the needs of each partner.
2. Learn the difference between coping strategies & defence mechanisms, and practice alternative strategies to handle conflict with your spouse or partner.
3. Achieve a new level of self-actualization; and repair the rifts that have formed in your relationship.

Conflict Resolution Options

Mediation is one tool in a spectrum of different options, each with its own pros and cons. I can assess from an initial discussion what might work best for your unique situation, and refer you to other dispute resolution professionals if needed. Here are some resolution options we can consider:

• Negotiation – The classic one-on-one form of conflict resolution. A negotiation can be any kind of discussion aimed at reaching an agreement without the help of impartial judges, mediators, or facilitators. For many people, this is the ideal starting place for resolving conflicts; but, for various reasons, it can often spiral into a hostile showdown.
• Facilitation – A facilitator is a person whose role is to help create a productive conversation. Often the goal is to achieve better understanding, spark creativity, and to unite people’s diverse perspectives, rather than resolve a specific conflict. Facilitation is often used for strategic planning, team building, and brainstorming.
• Mediation – A mediator is someone who facilitates a conversation between two or more people to help them resolve a conflict or a dispute. Mediators are neutral and will not make decisions for you. They are trained to establish and maintain a safe, confidential, communicative process, and to help participants reach an agreement. There may be specific regulations as too who can do this work.
• Med-Arb – This hybrid process, short for Mediation-Arbitration combines the benefits of mediation (where the parties control the outcome) and arbitration (where the med-arbitrator makes the final decision on any remaining issues). The Med-Arb process ensures participants will get a resolution.
• Arbitration – The arbitrator makes a binding decision regarding the issue(s) in a dispute. Like a judge, they hear evidence and make decisions based on those. Unlike going to court, arbitration can be scheduled more quickly and the arbitrator is chosen by both participants. There may be specific regulations as too who can do this work.
• Court – Decisions are made through the judicial system by judges. This process is the least private, the most expensive, and the most time-consuming. In certain conflicts, depending on the people involved and the issues at hand, it can also be the only process that works.