Mediators of Southern California
This Group will be based on articles in reference to Divorce and Divorce Mediation Please feel fee to post your thoughts, experiences and any articles on this subject here in this group.
Location: Southern California
Members: 8
Latest Activity: Feb 10, 2014
I have found co-mediating divorce cases to be extremely helpful. Clients get the benefit of both legal and psychological expertise. While mediation is not therapy, couples do have an opportunity to…Continue
Started by Kathy Memel, Ph.D, MFT Oct 20, 2009.
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I have been very fortunate to have a great co-mediator, Patrick Healey, from Irvine, who is a male, and an mft. While I was working on numbers with one client, he was getting the other settlement ready in an emotional sense, so that when the joint session came started everyone was on board. I also believe that gender balance is not necessary either in Mediation or in Collaborative Law. True professionals transcend gender.
I co-mediated divorce cases for about 2 years with another female mediator. As opposed to gender balance as an issue, she brought her knowledge and perspective as an attorney to the table, and I came to the table with a very different frame of reference as a mental health professional. I feel rather strongly that gender balance in co-mediation is a myth. A good mediator is a good mediator, and neutrality should include gender-blindness. In any divorce case the mediator can only be the same gender as one party, right? Sometimes the husband may have a concern about a female mediator, and honestly, sometimes the wife may. I find that by holding individual sessions with each spouse prior to the first joint session, I am able to bond with each separately and earn their trust. The gender issue disappears.
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