This intensive 40-hour program offers a strong foundation in the core theories, principles, and skills essential to effective family mediation practice.

The course is highly interactive and experiential, featuring instruction from leading family mediators, foundational readings, realistic role plays, practical case studies, guided exercises, class discussions, take-home assignments, and a wealth of professional resources.

Topics Include:

• Hallmarks of disputing behaviour and the evolution of conflicts into disputes
• Tools to analyze the nature, causes and drivers of conflict
• Resources for identifying the diverse needs of all clients
• Sources of negotiation power that parties have or believe they have, how this impacts family dispute resolution and skills and tools to help manage the process.
• Responding to power imbalance resulting from systemic racism, inter-generational trauma, and associated barriers to full, voluntary and effective participation in mediation
• Hearing the child’s voice in mediation
• Essential family mediation agreement terms and case law
• Fundamental principles and stages of family mediation
• Focused skill building:  listening, communication and writing skills
• Intensive role plays with one-on-one coaching
• Effective parenting plan mediation: theory and skills
• Mediating income determination, child support and spousal support: law and skills
• Mediating property division: law and skills
• Skills and tips for drafting effective settlement documents
• High conflict parenting mediations
• Cultural safety in family mediation
• Recognizing ethical problems and identifying approaches for resolving them
• Standards of practice, certification options and starting your practice
  
  

This program contains 5 hours and 25 minutes of Professionalism Content and 1 hour and 45 minutes of EDI Professionalism Content.