Building on the success of their groundbreaking 1988 Divorce Mediation, Folberg et al. now present the latest state-of-the-art, comprehensive resource on family and divorce mediation. Paving the way for the field to establish its own distinct discipline and academic tradition, this authoritative volume offers chapters contributed by leading mediation researchers, trainers, and practitioners. Detailed are the theory behind mediation practice, the contemporary social and political context, and practical issues involved in mediating divorce and custody disputes with contemporary families. Authors also address intriguing questions about professional standards and where the field should go from here. A groundbreaking resource, this volume is indispensable for all mental health and legal professionals working with families in transition.
This is the authoritative textbook on family mediation. As well as mediators, this work will be indispensable for practitioners and scholars across a wide range of fields, including social work and law. It draws on a wide cross-disciplinary theoretical literature and on the author's extensive and continuing practice experience. It encompasses developments in policy, research and practice in the UK and beyond. Roberts presents mediation as an aid to joint decision-making in the context of a range of family disputes, notably those involving children. Mediation is seen as a process of intervention distinct from legal, social work and therapeutic practice, drawing on a distinctive body of knowledge across disciplinary fields including anthropology, psychology and negotiation theory. Incorporating empirical evidence, the book emphasizes the value of mediation in mitigating the harmful effects of family breakdown and conflict. First published in 1988 as a pioneering work, this third edition has been fully updated to incorporate legal and policy developments in the UK and in Europe, new sociological and philosophical perspectives on respect, justice and conflict, and international research and practice innovations.
The new edition of Family Mediation: Theory and Practice incorporates the many new developments in the field since its original publication in 2009. This edition includes a new chapter, 'Unrepresented Parties and Mediation', exploring the impact of the vast number of pro se litigants on the family mediation process. Another new chapter, 'Beyond Mediation: Collaborative Practice and Other Forms of ADR in Family Law', reflects the expanding options for family dispute resolution since our first edition. The new edition also includes an updated and expanded statutory appendix featuring representative changes in court based mediation rules and statutes, including new approaches to courts' treatment of domestic violence cases in family mediation as well as new rules on confidentiality and mediator qualifications and training. The remaining chapters are wholly revised and updated, including additional materials on mediating financial issues, domestic violence and mediation, mediator neutrality, and power differentials. The teacher's manual includes new seminar plans, exam questions and role plays.
No matter your profession (attorney, clinician, family therapist) or skill level (seasoned professional or novice), The Handbook of Family Dispute Resolution is an invaluable resource that outlines the most effective mediation approaches, techniques, and skills. The Handbook of Family Dispute Resolution is a practical and comprehensive guide that includes * A review of professional ethics and standards * Help for attorneys who are not trained in the skills needed for working with families * Information about cultural issues that affect families during mediation * Highlights of key legal and negotiation skills * Guidelines for understanding complex family dynamics and conflicts * A screening tool for evaluating domestic violence * A matrix for starting discussions of parenting plans based on children's needs * An examination of specialized practices for family mediation * Direction for assessing one's professional approach to family mediation
"In Family Mediation: Facts, Myths, and Future Prospects, Connie J. A. Beck and Bruce D. Sales trace the development of the field as well as current mediation practices and take a hard look at the consequences for families and the legal system. For families enduring divorce, it is presumed that mediating support, custody, and visitation issues is quicker, less expensive, and less painful than battling in court. But how valid are the claims of mediation's wide-ranging benefits? Borrowing from the experiences and methods of psychotherapy research, the authors offer an engaging, highly informative critique of family mediation practice and research to reveal the intricacies, inadequacies, and situations in which mediation is most effective. Legal and mental health scholars involved with families in divorce will gain a clear understanding of the substantial research needs and opportunities in the field and their implications for social policies."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
"While there is no shortage of how-to books for mediators, works focusing on the voice of the mediator are rare. This book aims to fill that void by highlighting the perspectives of 16 mediators on a variety of topics, ranging from what motivates them to their different mediation styles and approaches." -Dispute Resolution Journal `I recommend this book to all mediators in whichever discipline they practise and with it the implicit challenge - to know and develop our craft.' -Resolution Newsletter, and www.resolution.org.uk The modern emergence of mediation represents the new and evolving application of an ancient and universal approach to settling quarrels. Mediation is now an established method of dispute resolution across a wide range of professional, workplace and social situations including the family, community, commercial, organisational, employment, environmental and international arenas. It is increasingly being applied to new legal, care and health sectors such as child abduction, child protection, housing and medical negligence. This book draws uniquely on the concrete knowledge and practice experience of leading mediators, working in a variety of fields, to inform contemporary debates and challenges. These practitioners reflect on the excitement, complexity, difficulty and satisfaction of their work as well as on the differences and commonalities within and across diverse fields of mediation practice. The book explores individual qualities and approaches, styles and models of practice, institutional frameworks and personal ideologies. Developing the Craft of Mediation is an essential aid for any mediator, and for other professionals wanting to enhance their understanding of the theory and practice of mediation.
Designed as a practical hands-on manual or text for students and professors of social work, Therapeutic Family Mediationwill also prove highly useful to mental health practitioners, legal professionals and mediators, couples going through divorce, and community workers specializing in family services. Key Features: Guides the reader through the authors′ five-step model: Intake/Assessment, Pre-Mediation, Negotiation, Termination, and Follow-Up Outlines the use of parenting plans and financial plans Explores patterns of conflict and monetary issues Explains the process of drafting contracts Provides the tools necessary for assisting high-conflict couples and culturally diverse couples
Preface by Hugh McIsaac Family mediation has quickly become a significant means of legal dispute resolution, recognized in most North American jurisdictions as a relief to already overburdened judicial systems. Using an innovative practical approach, the authors of Family Mediation incorporate the pivotal principles of family therapy into this new context--the judicial realm of family mediation. The practice model--therapeutic family mediation--thoroughly treats history, specific issues, and practice in an ecosystemic approach and responds to feminist critique of mediation. In addition, the authors offer important perspectives on mediating with multicultural populations and the role of the mediator in child custody disputes and child protection cases. Through examination of family mediation research as well as helpful case history vignettes, the authors of this volume take action to fill significant gaps between family therapy and mediation. Family Mediation provides a new take on family mediation that will benefit not only professionals and researchers in family studies, social work, clinical psychology, and sociology but also professional and volunteer mediators, conciliation court personnel, and family law specialists. "Family Mediation is an excellent blend of scholarship and practice, and it is the best of the books I have read on family mediation. First, it is clear and well written. Second, it provides an in-depth, current review of the divorce literature. The literature on divorce is large, uneven, and difficult to interpret. The authors have done a service to the profession by skillfully reviewing and integrating this literature." --Stephen J. Bahr, Brigham Young University "This book is one of the most comprehensive and well-researched texts on mediation to date. The authors have compiled an immense array of information regarding the history of family mediation, the practice and knowledge base, a review of literature regarding divorce, the principles of mediation, gender and cultural issues, elements in a child custody dispute, sharing parenting, cultural issues, and the use of mediation in dependency, and they include an excellent summary of research conducted. . . . Of particular value is the enormous scope of the review of literature and the work of others, not only in Canada but also the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, underscoring the international nature of this transformation. What Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have done is chart a major shift in the handling of conflict and they have done it very well." --Family and Conciliation Courts Review "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have surveyed and summarized an immense amount of material within the covers of this volume, presenting it in a clear, readable style. It is one of the rare texts on mediation that does justice to the complexity of families generally and families in North America particularly--to their diversity of culture, to the scope of feminist thought and gender differences, and to the ranges of social class. Their attention to divergent forms of mediation and differences in practice across jurisdictions is broadly sighted. An excellent choice for a text in mediation." --Mary A. Duryee, Family Court Services, Alameda County, Oakland, CA "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin grapple with what is the most difficult event that confronts almost half of all modern families--divorce. Historically, the developmental issues and problems surrounding divorce have been solved in the courts. But modern-day courts are overwhelmed by an avalanche of divorce cases, more than a million a year, and are unable to meet the needs of separating parties. Family Mediation offers a fundamentally different approach from the conventional legal system. The empirical research and clinical experience Irving and Benjamin bring to bear on this subject have resulted in the seminal work in this area. This delightful and thoughtful book is a must for the modern mediation practitioner who works with families and children." --Duncan Lindsey, Professor, UCLA, and Editor-in-Chief, Children and Youth Services Review "This book is unique in providing a complete overview of relevant subject areas for family mediation under one cover. Its writing is timely because it dispels some of the myths in the rapidly expanding field of family mediation. . . . Family Mediation is a comprehensive text that follows the development of family mediation through the present and concludes with the predictors of future directions. It is perhaps the most thorough critical review of the literature pertaining to family mediation and develops an inclusive practical model of practice for practitioners. The book is readable . . . responsible, and of interest to family mediators and the family law lawyers who work closely with them. It may become a must as a background for the novice family mediator about to embark on a course of training." --Laurel Pearson, McWhinney, Metcalfe, and Associates, Toronto, Canada
Although divorce is essentially a matter of personal choice, its emotional aspects are necessarily entwined with legal dynamics, making decisions about divorce a matter of both the heart and the law. Consequently, feelings become facts that must be accommodated in the divorce process in order to reach a viable lasting result. Divorce mediation, an alternative to traditional judicial intervention and third-party decision making, facilitates private negotiation and takes into account emotional as well as legal dimensions of marital dissolution. This process empowers divorcing couples to be actively involved in making the choices that will affect their lives for years to come. The divorce mediator acts as a neutral party who promotes decision making with the family and helps divorcing couples to develop their own parental, financial, and property arrangements. Because divorce mediation views divorce as a multidimensional process that involves both legal and psychological matters, it has attracted professionals from both fields who wish to facilitate a less adversarial approach to the dissolution of a marriage. DIVORCE MEDIATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE fills the currently unmet need for a comprehensive treatment of this burgeoning field. Editors Folberg and Milne, both nationally recognized authorities, have compiled an interdisciplinary state-of-the-art work on divorce resolution. Leading practitioners have contributed chapters which define the theory of divorce mediation, and outline techniques and strategies, as well as ethical considerations and constraints, standards of practice, and policy issues. Current results and forthcoming research findings on such important and controversial matters such as mediation's role in domestic violence disputes are also included. The volume opens with a lucid discussion of theory and practice, the nature of divorce disputes, and methods for achieving settlements. It goes on to offer a detailed overview of the psychological and legal dimensions to be considered. Next, organizational settings in which divorce mediation occurs, namely courts-of-law, private practice, agencies, and organizations are discussed. The implications of divorce mediation for such complex areas of dispute as child custody and financial agreements are vividly conveyed. The process of engaging couples in constructive communication and reducing irrationality is fully explored in the chapters on power balancing, communication strategies, and techniques to break impasses. Legal and ethical issues discussed include liability of divorce mediators, confidentiality and privilege, and standards of practice. The book closes with comprehensive coverage of research results, a longitudinal comparison of mediated versus adversarial divorce, and an in-depth descriptive analysis of common divorce mediation behaviors. This groundbreaking volume brings together a wide range of noted practitioners and researchers in this dynamic discipline to produce the singular interdisciplinary, comprehensive work on this subject to date. DIVORCE MEDIATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE will be an indispensable tool for mediators, therapists, social workers, lawyers, educators and other dispute resolution professionals. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with empowering couples to determine their own mutual and individual responsibilities, and rendering the process of marriage dissolution more cooperative and humane.
