1. Start by researching on Google. Find out if there is a family mediation service near me with a local office – if you wish to do face-to-face mediation. If you prefer holding sessions online, you can choose any mediation service within England & Wales. Location will be less of an issue with online mediation.
2. Does their website seem professional? Do they have updated social media entries, a top rated family mediation blog and lots of relevant information. Do they have testimonials and reviews? Is it a secure website (with a padlock next to the name). All these things can increase your confidence in the mediation company and the service they will provide.
3. Are they a one-person band or a larger mediation business? Many family mediators are small operations and are great family mediators – but what if they are ill or go away or retire? If you don’t get on with your mediator can you easily swap to another mediator within the same service, without having to start the whole process over again?
4. How many years have they been in business – experience does not always mean quality but can be a factor to consider, especially if they have been operating for fewer than five years or just recently set up.
5. Are the mediators registered with the Family Mediation Council and are they a member of a governing body? They will need to be a member of one of the five governing bodies to be able to operate as a family mediator.
6. Do they offer a free introductory conversation? It can be important to find out more about the mediation service and what they provide and answer any questions you may have.
7. Do they offer any other services, such as making the agreement reached through mediation legally binding? Or do you need to pay extra through different solicitors do to this?
It is well advised that should you and your couple be thinking of separating then this is the best way to go about it. Anger and mistrust between couples can rage on for years at the detriment of children and other family members. This is one emotion that is the cause of delayed legal action and a game may ensue for years before any one of the couple takes objective action to resolve their emotional hurt.
Should you not have explored this avenue of researching mediation services then this is a desirable approach to investigate. The cost factor on both a financial and even more so on an emotional level can and does destroy family members who do not have the control and skills to decide when a couple will stop fighting with each other. These sad facts that children are left to deal with cause deterioration in their development.