Delighted to promote this logo on my website. Over the course of my legal and mediation career, it became a source of amusement to my personal assistant who had to keep adapting my e-mail signature clause and professional profile as I obtained more and more accreditations.
I’ve always been proud to shout about any accreditations I’ve earned over the years. A lot of hard work went into achieving them. However, none give me greater pleasure than the child inclusive mediation accreditation. Seeing children during the mediation process and reporting back to their parents gives me the greatest job satisfaction.
I am privileged to be able to meet with children and I believe this is an absolutely vital part of the mediation process. For children, it tells them that their parents want to hear from them, that they are unique, they value what they think, their parents are listening to them and that individually their opinions count (very often siblings differ remarkably with their responses, wishes and feelings which are often overlooked in a legal process). This is vital for their emotional wellbeing. It is also enormously helpful for parents to really understand and hear from their children’s point of view how life is for them and any suggestions they may have. It is very powerful to hear your children speak through the mediator providing their feedback (I use their language and only feedback what they expressly want their parents to hear). The response is usually a mixture of sadness and smiles as we really bring their children into the room and understand how they view things. I’m grateful to all the children I’ve met so far in this role and I’ve learnt much more from them than I have reading any text books.
Children are unique, beautiful souls with so much to offer us when we take the time to listen to them. This is never more valuable when the family are going through a divorce process.
If you would like to find out more about involving children in the mediation process, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I am often appointed by those who are already working with a mediator but need a separately trained child inclusive mediator to meet with their children. I also offer this valuable service to my own clients going through the process.
