Mediation can help a couple or a larger set of members of a family develop a plan or agreement about resolving a variety of issues. Some examples:
- how to handle the family budget (save or spend? spend on what?),
- how teenagers and and their parents can co-exist in a way that makes the parents sure that their children are safe without making the teens feel unduly controlled and restricted,
- how to divide inherited property when someone dies without leaving a will,
- what to do when two parents have VERY different opinions about how best to raise their children,
- how to introduce a romantic partner who is new to your children into their lives
- how to begin to recover from a rift that developed twenty years ago
- children talking with parents about being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer
- who should be involved when the family business passes from an older generation to a younger one
- pre-nuptial agreements
- reconciliation agreements
.
Family mediation is not the same as family therapy. The particular skills of a family therapist are what some families need, to heal deep emotional wounds. Other families simply need someone to help each family member hear well what matters to the others and then negotiate constructively about what to do. For these families, working with a trained mediator can be just right. There may be no need for any mental health diagnosis or any consideration of how a court might handle the matters under discussion.
