If you think your family is complicated, you’re in good company! Most of us find our family relationships to be among the most challenging to manage. Even at the best of times, it takes effort to maintain a strong family unit. When life’s complexities put your family to the test, it can seem like an insurmountable challenge.
From financial stress to communication breakdowns, you don’t have to face these issues alone. Getting guidance from a family counsellor can play an invaluable part in keeping your family together or finding a peaceful way forward. You can read more in our article here.
However, family conflict can also become more serious, leading to separation or divorce. When this happens, you need support with a more structured approach. Mediation and arbitration provide families with an alternative to going to court. Trained mediators, arbitrators, and family coordinators can offer effective solutions to help you resolve issues and reach an agreement. By addressing family conflicts early with the help of professional interventions, you’ll be able to reestablish calm in the middle of a storm.
The power of communication
Open and effective communication is the bedrock of healthy family relationships, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. When faced with difficult circumstances, it’s understandable that we find it hard to communicate constructively, which can further strain our relationships. Emotions run high, misunderstandings abound, tensions escalate—and the distance between us widens.
If you’re in this situation, you might feel very isolated, but professional mediators, arbitrators, and parent coordinators can offer guidance to help bridge the distance. Mediation and arbitration offer a structured but supportive environment for families undergoing separation or divorce to work towards an agreeable solution to their problems without going to court.
A neutral third party can enable both sides to share their perspectives and concerns in a safe space. You’ll still need to present your case, including evidence or documentation to support your position, and you might have to give up some demands, but mediators and arbitrators have expert conflict resolution skills that can help families move forward together.
Mediation
Mediation aims to help families address their conflicts with the guidance of a trained family mediator. It’s an informal and confidential process that can help to facilitate open communication, giving each family member a chance to express their concerns.
Through active listening and empathetic understanding, a mediator will help you identify common ground and areas of compromise, so that your family can regain a sense of cooperation and reconciliation. Things like parenting plans, communication strategies, and decisions around support can all be addressed, although the outcome isn’t legally binding, so it will be up to the parties involved to adhere to the resolutions.
Arbitration
Sometimes, mediation isn’t the right solution to address your family’s specific concerns. Arbitration offers a structured and binding approach when more decisive resolution is required. You’ll still benefit from a neutral third party with expertise in dispute resolution, but the decision may be binding and court-enforced rather than simply a collaborative agreement.
Arbitration offers families a private space where an arbitrator can evaluate the arguments and evidence from each party. Though the process is structured, it’s considerably less formal than court proceedings. Like mediation, arbitration aims to restore harmony and stability.
How do they differ?
While they may seem similar, family mediation and arbitration take fundamentally different approaches to conflict resolution. Mediation aims to foster open communication and collaboration, encouraging families to find solutions together. It places the decision-making power in the hands of the family members themselves. Because of this, a lot of families find it more empowering and emotionally supportive.
On the other hand, arbitration involves a neutral third party making legally-binding decisions on contested issues. While this might seem less collaborative, arbitrators still strive to provide you with a definitive resolution that will be beneficial and fair to all parties.
When children are involved
The strength it takes to parent through times of crisis is often underappreciated. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed by your family’s breakdown, which causes considerable emotional distress and uncertainty for everyone involved. Unfortunately, children can also be impacted by witnessing conflict and stress.
Thankfully, mediation and arbitration offer parents a way to prioritize the best interests of their children. By working towards uncovering mutually beneficial solutions, you can minimize the impact of conflict on your children and invest in a more collaborative outcome that will address their future needs.
Trained parent coordinators can also offer support to help you parent through separation or divorce. They have expertise in dealing with issues like day-to-day parenting decisions and can facilitate parent plans. Co-parent counselling may be covered by your insurance provider.
The benefits of mediation and arbitration
While managing family conflict or navigating separation and divorce is never ideal, mediation and arbitration offer families a light at the end of the tunnel. As alternative dispute resolution processes, they are less formal than court proceedings and can provide varying levels of bindingness.
Some of the distinct advantages of our services that families appreciate are:
- Privacy: Unlike court proceedings, mediation and arbitration can take place privately, in the comfort of a neutral and comfortable counselling office.
- Affordability: Navigating a family breakup can become a financial burden, especially as legal and court fees pile up. Mediation and arbitration provide families with a more cost-effective alternative.
- Speed: No one wants to drag out an unpleasant situation longer than necessary. Mediation and arbitration offer a faster alternative to lengthy proceedings, so that you can get back on your feet and begin to build your new family structure as soon as possible.
- Control: While going through a family breakdown, you might feel like you have little or no control over the situation, but that doesn’t need to be the case. Instead of determining fault, we can help you to facilitate a mutually agreeable solution by empowering you to play an active role in solving your family’s problems.
Above all, mediation and arbitration offer very individualized approaches, focusing on what your family needs to move forward. In this way, they can provide a constructive and affordable solution instead of contributing to your family’s already overwhelming stress level. Depending on the issues you need to resolve, we can make recommendations on whether mediation or arbitration would be the most suitable approach.
All parties will have an opportunity to express their feelings and frustrations openly. This is helpful in beginning the process of rebuilding trust, understanding, and compassion, ideally fostering more cooperation. Even though separation and divorce involve terminating a relationship, you may find that mediation and arbitration allow you to do so amicably.
WJW Counselling & Mediation can help
Our team of like-minded mediators, psychologists and coaches offer a variety of services to meet the needs of your family. Seeking professional guidance to address conflict is an investment in your long-term well-being. By taking proactive steps to resolve disputes, you’ll establish healthier communication patterns, enhance your conflict resolution skills, and build a stronger support system.
If you’re going through a separation or divorce, our mediation or arbitration services can help your family reach a resolution. WJW Counselling offers services in St. Albert, Edmonton, the surrounding areas, and virtually across all of Alberta. Whenever possible, we’ll bill your insurance company directly, alleviating any additional financial stress on your family. We recommend that each party books separately for your first appointment.
An investment in your family
Family mediation and arbitration are powerful tools that offer families a chance to resolve conflicts without further undermining their bonds. Our team of caring, highly trained professionals can bring greater understanding to situations of conflict. Remember, seeking assistance from a mediator or arbitrator isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a courageous step towards a more peaceful family dynamic and co-parenting solutions. Contact us today and know that you don’t have to face this alone.
