Mediation is a process that provides an opportunity for people to work with a trained professional outside of the court system ensuring privacy for all. Serving as neutral third party, the mediator facilitates discussion among the parties aimed to help them reach agreement on the disputed issues. This process is a transparent and respectful one and ensures that participants have input in the ultimate decisions.
As an experienced mediator with a background in child development, I concentrate on facilitating respectful dialogues and building child-centered agreements with a focus on the future rather than the past.
I work with parents to communicate openly and be actively involved in the decision-making process. Together we create a comprehensive Parenting Plan that sets norms and expectations for their co-parenting relationship and serves as a roadmap to address all future child-related decisions.
The goal of this work is to assist participants in sharing concerns in respectful ways, to encourage them to consider the other’s point of view and ultimately to offer compromises to reach agreements that are mutually accepted and beneficial to all family members. When issues arise that result in locked communication, I help couples focus on the children’s needs and best interests so they can reach a compromise and solve problems constructively, which allows them to move on.
I will guide the mediation process, but not the outcome; the couple maintains responsibility for the final decisions resulting in an agreement that is customized to meet their needs, and each client will retain their own attorney to review any agreements that are created in the mediation.