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An authoritative and practical guide to family mediation and its wider context
Mediation provides an alternative to litigation in the courts to resolve family disputes and make arrangements about children, finances and other personal matters after separation or divorce. It is intended to reduce conflict and the time and costs involved, by helping families to reach long-lasting agreements in the best interests of all involved. Family mediators face many challenges in managing a wide range of conflicts on family matters. This book explores these challenges and evolving areas such as child consultation in mediation and the use of mediation in cross-border cases.
Family Mediation is an authoritative and practical guide which not only explains the principles and process of family mediation but also places it in the context of a changing family justice system and its interaction with other professionals and processes. The text is supplemented by appendices containing key sample documentation. An essential publication not only for trainee and experienced family mediators but also for all family justice practitioners seeking to understand how family mediation works in practice.
- Foreword by The Rt Hon Lord Justice Wilson
- Introduction
- Mediation and the management of conflict
- Different approaches to mediation
- Considering mediation
- Designing mediation models
- Stages and skills in mediation
- Language and communication
- Child-focused mediation
- Child-inclusive mediation
- Mediating on money matters
- Managing power imbalances
- Dealing with deadlocks
- The Memorandum of Understanding and Open Financial Statement
- Research on family mediation
- European developments and cross-border mediation
- Appendices
- Family Justice Council Code of Practice for Family Mediation
- Agreement to Mediate (Family Mediators Association)
- Open Financial Statement (The Mediation Specialists)
- Co-mediation File Record (FMA)
- Additional ground-rules for court-referred mediation (TMC)
- Parental consent form for child consultation in mediation (Family Mediation Manchester Ltd)
- Bibliography
- Index
Lisa Parkinson, Family Mediator and Trainer. member of Family Justice Council ADR Committee
Editorial Consultant: Neil Robinson, Vice Chair, Family Mediators Association and member of Resolution ADR Committee
With a foreword by The Rt Hon Lord Justice Wilson
"all of us who work in the system need a comprehensive understanding of family mediation, the practice of which is far more complex and multi-faceted...we will need a vademecum. It will be Lisa Parkinson's book"
Nicholas Wilson, Lord Justice of Appeal, President of the Family Mediators Association
"I have consistently recommended Lisa Parkinson's book as the definitive work on family mediation. I'm delighted that she has produced a 2nd edition"
Henry Brown, Mediator Co-Founder and Vice-President of the Family Mediators Association
"translated into five European languages....a significant indicator of the book's value and success if ever we saw one! if you are professionally involved in family mediation, or you aspire to be, you seriously need the latest edition of this definitive work...an excellent guide" ...
Phillip Taylor MBE
"a must... comprehensive and compelling...This book is not just for mediators: it is essential reading for all practitioners and judiciary in the family justice system."
Elizabeth Walsh, Solicitor and Mediator
“invaluable and indispensable … the second edition is even more comprehensive and compelling … a testament to the enduring and evolving interdisciplinary model of mediation … I recommend this book to: Experienced mediators to remind them of and reinforce their skill base; aspiring mediators for the basic building blocks; lawyers and anyone else who wants to know what family mediation is really all about; anyone interested in family mediation in the current changing climate” ...
Jane Staff, Family Lawyer and Mediator, North Staffordshire
"Why go to the bother of reading an English book on the subject? The answer becomes clear when you read it ... describes how referral to mediation works in practice and how the essential principles of mediation are maintained ...I recommend this book to all mediation trainers and experienced family mediators. I should be very glad if German lawyers, who have tended to steer clear of mediation, would refer their clients to mediation more readily, encouraged by the convincing evidence in this book of mediation's value and effectiveness” …
Christoph C. Paul, Lawyer; Mediator, Berlin
Translated from the German review published in “Zeitschrift für Konflikt-Management”, vol. 5/2011, September/October 2011, p. 160
