MAREAS
Comprehensive Therapeutic Services for Children & Families
FAMILY MEDIATION
What is Family Mediation?
Mediation is the process of giving participants a safe place to outline their dispute, free from judgement and psychological distress. Once each party has been able to identify their issues, we seek to co-develop procedures that lay the ground work for collaborative problem solving to take place. In this safe, cooperative environment we begin the work of resolving issues that are or have the potential to be contentious.
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Mareas Family Mediation process is used in many different circumstances. We have listed a few examples for you:
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Separation- Deciding if separation is the right decision, Negotiating terms of a lasting agreement
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Parenting Conflicts- between the two parents or a parent and a dependent
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Family Conflict- related to stressors within or outside of the home
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Negotiating Services for Children & Youth with School Boards, and Community tables
What are the benefits of choosing a family mediation through MAREAS?
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Our family mediator has 30+ years of extensive experience working with families and children within many roles including crisis management, child advocacy, program development and coaching families to adopt more agreeable interactions within their household.
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Mareas’ mediator has a child-inclusive and focused operating model (families with children)
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We encourage parties to work out solutions that are meaningful to them, while involving an experienced, compassionate neutral third party to mitigate any potential obstacles
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Our focus is on reduce the potential for future conflict by providing problem solving strategies tailored for each individual family
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For families who will require continued future contact, due to circumstances involving children, we seek to establish and maintain a collaborative and strength based approach using skills developed during mediation process.
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This is a voluntary alternative process that focuses on positive resolutions, that can be negotiated together or separately (both parties are not required to interact)
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It is a cost effect alternative.
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It is a private process, unlike court.
Is family mediation appropriate for us?
Can you answer yes to any of the following:
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Are you going through a difficult phase in your relationship and wondering if you should separate?
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Are you and your family at a cross roads involving a difficult decision that will impact the well-being of everyone in the family? (ie) large move, relinquishing care of family member, taking in a family member
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Are you open to the idea of trying to work out a solution with the other party with a focus on the bigger picture benefits?
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Are you able to communicate your needs and listen to the other party's concerns with the support and guidance of a skilled practitioner?
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Are you amenable to using this process to create an agreement that is fair, equitable and acceptable to each of you?
What types of issues can we mediate?
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How and when to separate
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Parenting issues (including custody and access)
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Child support
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Spousal/Partner support
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Division of property
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Other important issues such as services for children
How long does family mediation take?
Family mediation sessions take place at an agreed upon time and place. The length of the process will depend on many factors, such as:
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Number and type of issues to be mediated
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Amount of conflict/bad feelings between the participants
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Degree of communication and cooperation among the parties
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If negotiations are done together or separately