During divorce, it is important to find a way to work through things peacefully and effectively if you and your partner decided to go with collaborative options.
This is where a mediator may come in handy. But what exactly do they do?
What mediators do and don’t do
Survive Divorce discusses the aspects of divorce mediation. Mediators help in many ways. Primarily, they act as a guiding force and help both parties reach an agreeable conclusion with as little friction as possible.
They do not act as counselors and it is not their job to attempt to fix a relationship, or emotionally coach the people through their divorce. They do, however, offer support while a couple decides how they want to proceed with the split.
For example, a mediator can often see the divorce from an angle that neither member of the couple can see. This allows them to offer unique advice from the perspective of a neutral and unrelated party.
De-escalation training
On top of that, mediators have training in de-escalation. This means that they can step in and help take a situation down a few notches in the event that the couple begins to argue and it starts spiraling out of hand.
Their ultimate goal is to ensure that conversation can happen without interruptions and that each meeting has a good level of productivity.
Of course, they cannot do much work if the couple is not willing to put in the effort to cooperate. This is what makes it a collaborative process.
