Breaking boundaries: influencing the future of family law.
The Mediation Space delivers a unique model of mediation that offers hope to high conflict divorce cases.
With almost half of all marriages in the UK ending in divorce (source: Office of National Statistics), it is imperative that we find ways to make the process one that minimises conflict and reduces emotional and psychological damage both to the couple and any children involved.
A new approach to family mediation
Born out of a shared conviction that a new approach was needed to facilitate dispute resolution between high conflict couples away from the court arena, The Mediation Space LLP was established in 2021. Founded by four highly experienced family lawyers one of whom is a practicing psychotherapist (Susan Baldock, Rachel Chisholm, Jacqueline Marks, Christine Plews) the practice deploys an innovative, multi-disciplinary approach comprising expert mediation underpinned by therapeutic understanding.
Unlike other mediation services, every partner has qualifications in psychodynamic psychotherapy and family law. With decades of family law experience, at the Bar, on the Bench and as a director in a large solicitors’ firm, and using their complementary skillsets, they have been able to offer access to mediation to include those in high conflict matters and where power imbalance is an issue.
Drawing on their expertise in psychotherapeutic principles enables them to offer help to couples where difficult and entrenched emotions present significant obstacles to resolution.
A highly qualified team offering a unique family mediation service
The practice is deliberately small, meaning each of the four partners are closely involved with their clients. As Resolution trained mediators and an adult psychotherapist, they are well-known in their respective fields. Each partner continues their separate professional practices alongside The Mediation Space, ensuring their approach stays relevant, up-to-date, and well informed. As a group they are highly experienced family lawyers who understand the legal options available as well as the court’s approach to outcomes.
With expertise in areas of law, mediation and psychotherapy, the team has undertaken years of post-graduate training, including clinical placements in NHS trusts.
The expert training, professional experience, and a passion for family mediation combines to provide a service where excellence is the standard.
How The Mediation Space differs from other mediation services.
In divorce cases where a high level of conflict or power imbalance exists there is a high likelihood that these cases will continue to return to court without achieving sustainable outcomes. However, these divorcing couples are also often screened out of suitability for mediation. This leaves a stalemate that has potentially damaging emotional and psychological consequences for both parties and their children.
The Mediation Space LLP was established as a direct response to this situation, offering a fresh approach to mediation with a skillset that acknowledges and works with emotional dynamics.
The approach is born out of the proven understanding that the best prospect for a successful outcome for those clients whose relationship has broken down is help for them to address and resolve their painful feelings as an integral part of the mediation process.
The Mediation Space approach to family mediation
The mediation model used is unique from start to finish.
Participants complete an in-depth questionnaire which includes questions about the matter to be mediated, their personal and relationship history, and any adverse life events.
Following the questionnaire, the in-take meeting is in two parts. Each participant will meet individually with their mediator and then separately with their in-house therapist.
In this way the team develops an understanding of both the nature of the issues to be resolved and any emotional obstacles to settlement. The mediator and therapist then consider suitability and which approach best fits the couple. The options might include the therapist being present in the joint sessions or continuing outside the sessions to collaborate with the mediator offering therapeutic support to the mediation process.
Mediation requires couples to be reasonable in a time of crisis. For some this is asking too much without support. Couples are exhorted to put aside their difficult feelings in pursuit of an agreement, often without success as overwhelming feelings impair concentration and logical thinking. Couples bring their entrenched relationship dynamics into the court arena and into mediation. To move forward, they need help finding new ways to communicate.
The Mediation Space gives them the therapeutic support they need to find a way through this difficult period and helps them understand their heightened emotions in a way that allows them to think more reasonably whilst under pressure.
Their model utilises the team’s expertise and understanding of both family law and psychotherapy. What sets them apart is the way they work with the law, facts, and feelings. The therapeutic approach engages with a client’s emotions, experiences, and beliefs without asking them to leave those things out of the conversation. The psychodynamic perspective is concerned with each participant’s subjective experience and deals with the person as they are, with all their conscious and unconscious mental life.
A proven model for successful outcomes in family mediation
Since launching the practice in 2021, The Mediation Space has received more than one hundred referrals from lawyers, psychotherapists, and lay clients.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, cited The Mediation Space in his keynote speech to the Family Mediation Association as a sign of change and “a new variety of mediation”.
The service provided has also been identified in court orders as a named mediation resource. The partners are all active in their fields of expertise and contribute to the wider family justice community through articles and seminars.
In 2022 they presented their psychotherapeutic theory to the Resolution Conference 2022, explaining how the mediator can best manage the emotional impact of conflict on the participants as well as themselves.
Shortlisted for the Resolution’s Innovation Champion Award in 2023 they have also recently been announced as a finalist in the Family Law Awards 2023.
Contact The Mediation Space
Individuals or couples wishing to discuss family mediation can book an online consultation via the website: https://www.themediationspace.co.uk/contact
For solicitors and law firms wishing to discuss opportunities to refer client to The Mediation Space, please contact us enquiries@themediationspace.co.uk.