
The use of family mediation to reduce conflict - Family Mediation Week 2025
INSIGHTS
January can be a challenging month for many reasons whether it be a reassessment of relationships, family conflicts coming to the surface, or financial difficulty after the expensive festive period. It’s not surprising then that divorce and family lawyers tend to be pretty busy in the first month of the new year.
This week marks Family Mediation Week (27th – 31st January).
New research from the Family Mediation Council (England and Wales) suggests that two thirds of people are aware of family mediation as a way to resolve financial, parenting or property issues. This is encouraging, given the benefits that mediation brings to often very difficult and sensitive situations. Furthermore, figures from Relationships Scotland, the country’s leading relationship support charity, show that 80% of parents who participated in mediation said communication with the other parent had improved, while 88% saw a reduction in conflict after mediation. Around 97% of parents who took part in mediation said they would recommend the process to others, if needed.
Family mediation allows those going through a separation or divorce or who are dealing with disputes in relation to their children to work together – supported by a family mediator – to find solutions in a safe environment, often saving costs and preventing damage to relationships.
There are many benefits to mediation. It allows partners to make the best decisions for their families as they are the most informed about their circumstances. With a court action, the judge, who will not know the family at all, makes decisions about all matters, and the parents may not like these decisions. They lose all control with a court action whereas with mediation they are in control of what is talked about, what is decided, and the costs, which are cheaper than going to court.
Mediation is not always successful, but it is in a very high proportion of cases, in our experience. Even if participants are not able to agree on everything, they may be able to agree on some things. This may limit how much they have still to resolve, which will make the situation easier and possibly save money. They still have all the options open to them if mediation is not wholly successful. If not, they can go to court or negotiate through solicitors.
In traditional mediation, the process usually takes place without direct input from children. However, some family mediators in Scotland are now certified to offer Child-inclusive mediation (CIM). CIM is a specialised type of family mediation whereby children and young people are given the opportunity to take part in the mediation process, allowing them to express their views, thoughts and feelings about issues affecting them to a trained mediator. It enables children to have their voices heard, in a safe and confidential environment.
Central to the practise of CIM is that children and young people participate voluntarily, with the consent and support of both parents. All conversations between the children and young people are confidential, other than in specific excepted scenarios, including where there are safeguarding, or child protection concerns or where there is clear consent from children to provide specific messages to their parents. It is also central to the process that decision-making always remains with the parents, and this is communicated clearly to the child or young person at the outset of the process.
There are four accredited family law mediators at Harper Macleod: Jenny Smith, Karen Gibbons, Linda Walker and Jane Blackwood. Two of our team, Karen Gibbons and Linda Walker, are certified in Child-inclusive Mediation. Our team is passionate about mediation and the benefits of this process to resolving family law disputes in a better way.
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