MEDIATING WITH HIGH-CONFLICT COUPLES |
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| Authors: | Lisa Parkinson |
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| Affiliation: | Lisa Parkinson, M.A., C.Q.S.W., is a pioneer of family mediation in the United Kingdom. Drawing from her experience in psychiatric social work and family therapy, she has been involved in developing family mediation in the United Kingdom since 1976 and is now director of two national associations, training mediators from different profesional backgrounds including family law. She is a representative of the U.K. College of Family Mediators on the European Forum on Family Mediation, the cofounder of World Mediation Forum, and the author of articles and books on mediation. |
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| Abstract: | Models of mediation based on negotiation assume that participants can think and act rationally, whereas in reality, when individuals are overwhelmed by anger and pain, their capacity for reason and logic diminishes. Family mediators need to appreciate the intensity of the irrational feelings and reactions they see in mediation and to consider their personal impact. Mediators can help to contain family crises by adapting the family crises by adapting the model and methods in this article to fit different levels and patterns of conflict. An understanding of systems theory is particularly helpful in considering the functions of conflict and varying needs to maintain conflict. This article suggests that mediators can use different kinds of nonverbal and verbal communication and surprise those who expect mediators to give them a stock response. |
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