How You and Your Family Benefit from Mediation

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Mediation... Saves Money Saves Time Reduces Stress Reduces Anxiety is Non-Threatening Provides Increased Flexibility Provides Creative Solutions is a Confidential Process Solves Disputes Saves Relationships Reduces Conflict is Non-Adversarial Minimizes Trauma is a Cooperative Process Promotes Compliance Provides Personal Empowerment Involves Direct Communications Eases Impact on Children has No Hidden Charges Builds on the Positive An Additional Benefit for Parents: the Parenting Coordinator The most important issues faced by divorcing parents are those related to their children. Parents often have strong and bitter conflicts over such issues as visitation, religious preferences, and custody. As an impartial third person with extensive experience in settling these emotionally charged issues, our Parenting Coordinator (P.C.) facilitates the resolution of disputes between parents, always keeping in mind the best interest of the children. The P.C. will assist in implementing a parenting plan which demonstrates a safe, healthy and meaningful parent-child relationship for both parties. Our P.C. is a licensed mental health professional and Supreme Court-certified family mediator, with extensive experience in high conflict disputes and family dynamics in divorce. Our P.C. is an impartial facilitator whose interest is in reducing harmful conflct and promoting the best interests of the children who are in great part involved in these conflicts. Remember: parents get divorced… not children. Children both need and desire the continuing love of, and communication and contact with, both parents. Even after you are divorced, there will be a lifetime of family events you will want to attend. Holidays, graduations, marriages, and the birth of new generations are just a few of these milestones in your children's lives. It is always in the best interest of the children when parents can create a good "working" relationship during, and after, divorce. Our P.C.'s philosophy is that good parenting has to do most importantly with always treating your children with love and respect. When this is conveyed using good listening and appropriate praise, children feel understood and valued. Clear, consistent rules and boundaries with appropriate consequences give children guidelines they can follow. It is critical that parents stand united so children have no doubt that both parents agree on what is best to protect them, and help them develop into happy, healthy adults with integrity, responsibility, honesty, respect for others and a strong sense of self worth. As a mental health professional, our coordinator understands that break-ups, separation and divorce challenge individuals to maintain integrity within themselves and respect for each other, despite painful emotions and difficult tasks. Conflict resolution requires the goal of fairness and a win-win outcome. Getting even, retaliation, and inflicting pain are counter-productive to both, and especially destructive when children are involved. Developing the ability to compromise and negotiate produces an outcome that can provide much of what everyone needs within the available resources. This can be facilitated with a mediator to avoid litigation. When children are involved, much of the focus is on providing as stable and safe an environment as possible during separation, and on creating a parenting coalition that attends to the needs and wants of the children, despite the dissolutions of the partnership or marriage. At FAMILY MEDIATION CENTERS™ we will help you reshape your future... not rehash your past. Want to learn more? Send us your full name and e-mail address* and we will send you our FREE "Painless Divorce" e-booklet, containing dozens of tips to help you breeze through this difficult time. Still have questions? Contact us! We are always happy to speak to you. *We respect your privacy and will not give your e-mail address to anyone without your permission. To learn more about Sherrie Marcus and Family Legal Services, visit www.SherrieMarcus.com. ^ Top