NCJ Number
96521
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1984) Pages: 47-58
Date Published
1984
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This chapter explains how the Northwest Mediation Service in Seattle, Wash., operates, its strengths and limitations, and its successes and failures.
Abstract
It tells how attorneys and mental health professionals combine their knowledge and skills to deal effectively with the process of divorce resolution. Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1977 by an attorney and a social worker, the mediation service offers an entirely new approach to the divorcing process. The service encourages conciliation and trust and enhances the parties' ability to maintain control of their own lives. The number of mediators expanded from the original 4 to the present 14 (7 attorneys and 7 mental health professionals). The Service works with couples who have decided to divorce but who have not been able to resolve various issues, including custody, property, support, and visitation. It always works in male-female teams consisting of a mental health professional and an attorney. A very structured, controlled approach is taken. After issues are defined and points of agreement and disagreement are discovered, alternative solutions to the disputed issues are discussed. Techniques include giving information, making predictions of probable court outcomes, and narrowing down alternative solutions. Case examples are included. Goals of the Northwest Mediation Service include establishing a caseload of 300 cases per year, training sufficient new mediators to service that caseload, and creating a mediation institute in its own building with at least 1 full-time staff person.