Overview
Conflict Resolution
Culture and Conflict
Family Mediation
Organizational Conflict
Violence Prevention and Intervention

Family Mediation

Course Summary:

Divorce mediation began in the early 1970’s and allowed couples to create their divorce settlements through a cooperative, confidential, and private process that focuses on the current and future needs of the husband, wife, and children. The rationale for divorce and child-custody mediation is that divorce is a family problem, not a legal problem. It approaches divorce as a problem to be solved, and empowers those who created the problem to take responsibility for its solution. Mediation also addresses the multidimensional aspects of divorce, which include the legal divorce, the emotional divorce, personal values, and personal needs and interests. In contrast, the adversarial legal approach views divorce as a contest to be won, and focuses on the legal issues.


Course Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Understand the mediation option for divorcing families (benefits and challenges)
  • Address the multidimensional process of divorce mediation (legal, emotional, values, needs and interests)
    • Handle legal aspects of divorce and custody issues
    • Address parenting, property, and financial issues
    • Deal with deadlocks and psychological issues in mediation
    • Work with children in divorce mediation
  • Learn about the stages of divorce and how to structure the phases and tasks of divorce mediation
  • Communicate effectively as a mediator
    • Reframe divorce and child-custody issues
    • Analyze strategies for effective child-custody mediation agreements
    • Expand negotiation and problem-solving skills
    • Identify issues to consider in planning child care after divorce