Relationships or Marital Mediation
You might wonder what relationships mediation or martial mediation is? And what is the difference between relationships mediation and counselling?
Relationships or marital mediation is for people, regardless of gender, in intimate ongoing relationships.
Relationship or marital mediation is perfect for those who are married or not married, with or without children, who want to gain insight into their conflict patterns and enrich their relationships through more constructive communication.
Life Mediation offers a facilitative mediation process for partners experiencing difficulties in their relationship who are willing to learn to resolve conflict within their relationship and negotiate effectively, with the aim to stay together and not separate.
The purpose of relationships or marital mediation is for couples to find new ways of relating that is meaningful, rewarding and respectful, even if ultimately the outcome for them is to go their separate ways.
It is essential to have meaningful conversations before you make the decision to stay together or go your separate ways. The decision to separate and/or divorce is one of the most crucial decisions a person can make with consequences that last for years, or even a lifetime. In relationships mediation you can work on your relationship so you can resolve conflict and learn the tools needed to find solutions for any future conflicts which may arise, or if you decide during the process that you do want to separate you can talk about how you will go about it. You have a lot more chance to end up with an amicable and smooth separation instead of a messy separation that impacts everyone’s mental health – and wallet!
Lisanne Iriks has over 12 years of experience as a mediator and has completed counselling education as well. Lisanne works with couples that are separated and divorced in the family law context. This means that Lisanne can give you both a very clear insight on what happens if you decide to separate so you and your partner can take that into account before you make any decisions. A lot of people do not consider the consequences and processes that come with a separation before making the decision to separate which can lead to problems down the track.
Lisanne will work with you on creating change and growth in your existing relationship using her extensive knowledge and skills in mediation and negotiation. Lisanne will work with you both on your conflict resolution skills and negotiation skills so you can have more constructive communication, peace of mind and happiness in your relationship.
Relationships or marital mediation aims to help couples stay together, stay married and keep on living together. It can also be valuable for de facto relationships and for newly formed relationships to establish what kind of relationship you want to create together. Often people do not make any agreements at the start of their relationships and have no clarity about the future which can lead to problems down the track. If you make agreements early on you and your partner will have a lot more clarity and a lot less conflict.
Through relationships mediation, parents may learn to become more tolerant of each other’s imperfections, accept that everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and let go of unrealistic expectations, judgments and bitterness.
What relationships mediation is not:
The purpose of relationships mediation is different from mediation for separating couples, couple counselling or therapy. The difference is that it is “task oriented and time limited” focusing on the couples’ short or longer-term goals to improve their relationship.
The mediation process is solution-focused and future-focused. This focus on the future assists participants to plan steps to act and/or react differently to avoid repeats of problematic behaviours that have occurred.
The purpose of relationships mediation is for you and your partner to stay together and not separate.
It is a different process from Family Dispute Resoluion that Lisanne also provides. Family Dispute Resolution is a service that Lisanne provides for people that are separated or divorced and they need to work out parenting arrangements as well as their financial separation. When you are in a relationship, you cannot get a 60I Certificate to go to the family court if you decide that you want to separate. That is a different process.
The process:
You each have a confidential intake session in which you can tell Lisanne your story in a safe environment. In this session Lisanne will assess if this process is going to work for you both and make sure you are both committed to the process and willing to learn and make changes.
After your private intake session you will have your first joint session together in which we will look at what works well in your relationship and what needs improvement.
You will work on your communication, conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
You and your partner will work on creating solutions for your current situation and you will look at creating a future you both want and works for the both of you. You will work together to put agreements in place that will support that future. The joint sessions are 3 hours. That seems a long time but it is not if you really want to get some great work done.
It is recommended to have at least 2 joint mediation sessions so you can do your homework in between sessions, implement what you learnt and discuss what has been working and not working in the next joint session.
To find out if mediation is right for you, please fill out our short online application form.
What Our Clients Say
Read how Life Mediations’ Relationships or Marital Mediation has helped couples find a new way forward.
Please note that the names of our clients have been changed to protect their privacy.
Relationship Mediation Terms and Conditions
Life Mediation payment terms:
Payment must be in advance for every session. The session will only be confirmed after payment has been received.
Life Mediation cancellation policy:
Cancellations must be made more than 24 hours before the appointment or the full session fee will be forfeited.
When a practitioner that works for Life Mediation has to reschedule or cancel the appointment the client will be fully refunded for the cancelled appointment and Life Mediation will make an effort to schedule a new appointment as soon as possible to minimize the inconvenience on the client or will provide the client with details of another practitioner if the client prefers this.
The pricing schedule is current as of 3rd November 2021. Pricing is subject to change and we will endeavour to update our website and cost agreement if this occurs.
Life Mediation and the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners’ that work for Life Mediation are not in a position to provide any reports or information for any legal proceedings or court of law, as designated by Section 10D of the shared Parental Responsibility Act 2006.
Any information obtained by the staff of Life Mediation in the course of contact with a client is confidential within professional, legal and ethical limits. However whilst the client’s right to confidentiality is upheld and respected there may also be circumstances when a Life Mediation staff member is required to breach confidentiality, such as:
- Where there is some evidence of a clear or implied threat to life or safety, or there is a serious intent to harm self or others.
- Where there is known or suspected child abuse.
There will be times that the family dispute resolution practitioner will share client information in a confidential setting for the purpose of supervision to make the appropriate decisions regarding that particular family.
Any session entered is for the purpose of support, in relation to the client’s current situation. Should there be any disclosures of abuse, threat of abuse, direct evidence of violence or threats of harm to self or others, the Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner may act, out of duty of care, to report this to the appropriate authorities.
Our Services
Family Mediation
Training & Workshops
Conflict in the workplace is a common occurrence. In fact, statistics tell us that managers spend approximately 20% of their time dealing with conflict. On a 40 hour work week, that is 8 hours – a full day per week!
Workplace Mediation
Book a complimentary 15-minute Consultation Session to discuss how we can best assist you.