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Child Inclusive Family Law Mediation in Australia

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Largely adult focused processes in both litigation and mediation. Made more palatable by the 'Best Interests of the Child' mantra. 4. Where should we be going? ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Child Inclusive Family Law Mediation in Australia


1
Child Inclusive Family Law Mediation in Australia
  • An outcome study
  • Jenn McIntosh PhD
  • Lawrie Moloney PhD

2
Disputes over children after separation and
divorce
  • Where have we come from and where should we be
    going?

3
Where have we come from?
  • Largely adult focused processes in both
    litigation and mediation
  • Made more palatable by the Best Interests of the
    Child mantra

4
Where should we be going?
  • Minimum standard should be child focused
    practices
  • And, where required, child inclusive practices

5
Child focused practice is ...
  • Finding the childs voice,with their parents, in
    the absence of the child.

6
Child focused practice requires
  • Active attention to creating and managing an
    environment that
  • Facilitates parents to arrive at higher ground in
    their post separation parenting
  • Facilitates decision-making processes that centre
    on each childs current and ongoing needs

7
Child inclusive practice is ...
  • Finding the childs voice, for their parents,
    with the direct assistance of the child.

8
Child inclusive practice is ...
  • As part of the dispute resolution process with
    parents, childrens experiences of the separation
    and conflict are sought.
  • Their needs in light of these are understood
    within a developmental frame.
  • This material is fed into a dialogue and
    decision making process with parents.

9
Child inclusive practice requires
  • Practice that is
  • Skilled
  • Multi dimensional
  • Supportive of the child
  • Developmentally appropriate
  • Not confused with asking the child what the
    decision should be

10
In a CIP consultation, children are supported
through
  • Information
  • validation of experiences
  • opportunity to talk individually
  • opportunity to talk with their siblings
  • opportunity to have views, concerns safely
    conveyed to their parents
  • opportunity to share difficult feeling
  • learning coping strategies for difficult times
  • the possibility of some of their preferences and
    needs being acted upon.

11
Child consultation that
  • Incorporates a loop back to parents that is
    respectful, strategic, informative and
    therapeutic or
  • Incorporates a loop to a decision-maker operating
    in a non-adversarial setting that is respectful,
    strategic, informative and therapeutic
  • Leaves parents on higher ground than they were at
    the beginning of the process

12
Clinical demonstration of child inclusive
practice in mediation
13
Reviewing the requirements regarding feedback
  • Loop back to the parents is
  • respectful
  • strategic
  • informative
  • therapeutic

14
Formulating interview material
  • Explicating meaning in material, through
  • Childs subjective experience of the family
    conflict and his/her place within it.
  • Process of interview dominant affect.
  • Repetition of themes indicative of core conflicts
  • Fantasies evident in projective material.
  • Coping capacity, strengths.

15
Formulating interview material
  • Formulation weighted by
  • The childs developmental level.
  • The known reality of the family situation.
  • Parents capacity for reflection and attunement.

16
Purposes of feedback
  • Supporting parents capacity to hear and reflect
    on the needs of their children.
  • Share with parents their childrens unique
    experiences of the family conflict/separation.
  • Facilitate identification of the childrens key
    needs re recovery and adjustment, and their
    parents place within that.
  • Promote the inclusion of childrens core messages
    in ongoing dispute settlement with the parent/s.
  • Forecasting future consequences of unchanged
    dynamics for this particular child.

17
When should we think about consulting children?
  • When the parents conflict has intruded upon the
    childs capacity to enjoy an un-conflicted
    relationship with one or both parents.
  • When one or both parents capacity to think about
    their childrens needs and experiences is
    compromised by the current conflict or other
    factors.

18
Jacks Drawing of being protected by his Dad
19
Toward an evidence base for child inclusive
practices
  • A comparative study of outcomes for families in
    child focused and child inclusive mediation.
  • Family Transitions,
  • La Trobe University,
  • Relationships Australia

20
Design summary
  • Seventy-five families for each treatment group
  • Clients of Relationships Australia.
  • Parents presenting with child related issues,
    with children aged 5 years and over.
  • Voluntary and mandated cases

21
Treatment Definitions
  • Treatment 1
  • Child Focused Mediation
  • Treatment 2
  • Child Inclusive Mediation

22
Design
  • A quasi-experimental lagged design
  • Group1 Child-focused mediation intervention
    administered (Dec 2003-June 2004).
  • Same mediators then trained in the Child
    Consultation model.
  • Group 2 Child Inclusive intervention implemented
    ( July-December 2004).
  • Multi-site intervention framework Melbourne,
    Adelaide and Canberra.
  • 12 month follow up of parents and children.

23
Research Protocols (Parents)
  • Variables considered
  • 1. Parents
  • Contact
  • Parent/Child relationship
  • Conflict
  • Parenting alliance
  • Agreement durability/flexibility

24
Research Protocols (Children)
  • Variables considered
  • 2. Children
  • Childrens psychological well-being
  • Impact of family separation/divorce
  • Perception of parental conflict and resolution
  • Self representations around conflict and
    separation
  • Parent-child relationship
  • Experience of living arrangements

25
When mediation is contra-indicated
  • How can children be responsibly represented in
    litigation?

26
Who am I?
My Mum and my Dad are inside who I am They are
part of me wherever I go When they divorced, they
hated each other And that was like they hated
me And when they hurt each other they hurt
me When Mum did not want me to see Dad she wasnt
seeing me When Dad didnt want me to love Mum he
wasnt loving me Now thats stopped and they get
on OK So I can be who I am with my Mum and Dad
inside me Susan Age 11
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