Child Inclusive Mediation: Giving Children a Voice in Family Decisions
When children are involved, their well-being becomes the highest priority. I bring a child-focused perspective to every mediation involving families. I understand the emotional impact that conflict can have on children and am committed to ensuring their needs remain central by ensuring those views are meaningfully considered by both parents and dispute resolution professionals—is at the heart of the child-inclusive approach. This model is grounded in an understanding of the psychological impacts of family breakdown, emphasizing the critical need to help conflicted parents shift their focus toward the post-separation needs of their children. It integrates developmental consultation within a therapeutic mediation framework, delivered either through the courts or community-based services.
The overarching aim is to move beyond legal rhetoric and genuinely prioritize the child’s best interests by enhancing parents’ ability to think and plan together more constructively. Emerging evidence supports the value of this focused dispute resolution process, which helps separated parents listen to and reflect on their children’s perspectives and needs through brief, therapeutic interventions.
The data shows that hearing their children’s voices often helps parents reframe their mindset, leading to greater cooperation and shared decision-making than before. Notably, the intervention often fosters improved mutual respect between parents and increases their emotional responsiveness to their children—benefits that have been shown to positively influence children’s emotional wellbeing for up to a year after the process.