Category Archives: Family Law

As mental health and family law professionals we know that every family we work with is unique. We also know that families are incredibly complex and dynamic systems… How we understand and respond to a family’s uniqueness informs our mediations and other ADR processes at every stage – from intake to completion. Developing and expanding on our skills of analysis …
MORE

This week we are teaching our online 30-hour course in Family Law for Family Mediators, Parenting Coordinators and Arbitrators. It is a comprehensive overview and is good training for anyone who wants to know more about family law. We start the course discussing what comes first; changes in law or changes in society? For example, there is a social and …
MORE

In January we offered four interactive days of instruction to students across Ontario using live webcast technology. Students avoided the time and expense of travel to Toronto, accommodations and eating out for four days. They loved that they could take the course from their homes or offices. One of our students had a child at home who fell ill, and …
MORE

Best practices for screening family mediation and arbitration cases for power imbalances and domestic violence. MORE

This week we are teaching family law to a class of mediation students. It is only 30 hours, not nearly enough, but we try to use those hours to teach mediators the things they really need to know. One topic we touch on: Can people in family court be ordered to mediate? In Ontario, there is no such thing as …
MORE

This week we are teaching a 30-hour course in family law for Ontario mediators. Although one only scratches the surface of family law in such a short time, we manage to cover a lot of ground. Mediation in Ontario is an unregulated field. Although there are outstanding professional organizations for mediators to join—four in Ontario alone—membership in such an organization …
MORE

What is causing the “the perceived injurious” experience? What drives conflict? How does each party in conflict get their needs met? Read this excerpt from our Introduction to Family Law course for more insights. Relationship-based conflicts: fuelled by misperceptions, stereotypes, negative conduct, ineffective communication, historical experiences, etc. Value-based conflicts: caused by different ways of living or upbringing, different cultures, religions, or ideologies, resulting …
MORE