Family Mediation provided by Relationships Scotland is typically between two parents who live apart and want to discuss the care arrangements for their child or children.  The context is separation, divorce or family re-structuring or perhaps the parents were not together as a couple when the child was born.

Sometimes it can be helpful for other family members to be involved in the mediation process.  This might be grandparents, new partners or step parents who are also involved in the care of the child, or it might be that an older child or young person wants to discuss the issues they have with the adult in mediation themselves.

Do you wish you could have a discussion with your ex-partner about the arrangements for the children which made some progress towards a resolution?

Many people find communicating with their child’s other parent hugely challenging. Difficulty in communicating might have been one of the reasons for splitting up! Help may be at hand, however.

We know that families come in all shapes and sizes and that parents, children and other family members have different life experiences and make their own life choices.  Our mediators are skilled at helping all families find solutions that are as unique as they are.

This is the story of one of our families who were attending the Child Contact Centre, and how they made effective use of mediation. Sophie (not her real name) was around 7 years old, and she was brought to the Centre fortnightly on a Saturday by her Mum, to spend time with her Dad. The situation was very fraught and both parents could be very negative about each other at times, and vocal about the other parent at the handover in the Centre. Sophie was frequently upset.

All of the Family Mediation provided by Relationships Scotland is child focussed.  Mediators help parents, carers and other family members to think about how things are from each child’s perspective, and to take this in to account in their discussions, future planning...

Are you looking for a family mediator to help with communication and decision making?  There are a few things you might want to think about and check out before choosing who to approach.  These include the type of disagreements, the qualifications of the mediator and...

Bringing up children, as all parents will know, can be highly challenging. Even with the well-intentioned, and often good advice of friends and family, most parents will struggle, at least some of the time. But if you are going through a divorce or separation, which...