Life after separation will be different
Hands up all the perfect parents out there. What? No-one. That’s right. There are no perfect parents. Hardly groundbreaking news but sometimes it’s worth remembering writes Emma Ingham. Parents are just people, trying to do their best, but sometimes – even a lot of the time – making mistakes. And the feeling of making mistakes can be heightened when you are going through a separation and potentially arguing with your ex-partner. Sometimes these arguments will happen in front of your…
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8 Tools from Positive Psychology to help you feel happier after your divorce. Positive Psychology is the science of happiness and is concerned with helping individuals flourish and thrive in life. Whereas traditional Psychology looks at what’s ‘wrong’ with people, Positive Psychology focuses on the positives and negatives equally. It focuses on what’s going well in your life, with your relationships and work and building on your strengths. We’re all hardwired to focus more on the negative things in life……
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In recent years the government has placed a much greater emphasis on separating couples/parents resolving issues outside of the court process wherever possible. This started with the introduction of the requirement to attend a MIAMS (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) a few years back but there have been issues with whether this requirement was policed and what difference it made if you hadn’t. The reasons for it are probably clear to anyone with any knowledge of the family court system…
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It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been blogging about divorce and mediation for over 10 years and I’ve never written about love writes Louisa Whitney. That struck me as being particularly strange given the work I do. It almost feels taboo to be talking about love when you talk about divorce as though you are breaching some unwritten rule. The simple truth is that when your partner tells you they want to separate, or you make the…
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When couples who are going through a separation come to talk about how their children will spend their time for the first Christmas (or in fact any other special day or celebration) it can be a tough ask. It’s a special day and it’s likely you have always spent it with your children. So facing the thought of what to do can mean that one of you won’t see your children on this special day. This is tough and something…
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It has never been more apparent than now that we all must be more aware of our finances writes Emma Ingham, and our financial situation. The cost-of-living crisis that is so widely spoken about, and is affecting so many, is incredibly worrying. For those who are going through a divorce or separation, times that worry by about, well, a million. That is why, when discussing a financial settlement in mediation, your mediator will help you look at your finances in…
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How can family mediation help with who gets the dog? Family Mediation is known for supporting couples with financial settlements writes Michelle Rumsey and childcare arrangements. As family mediators our roles are not isolated to only financial and children, we incorporate a wide range of other areas. One area in particular that has increased over the years is the family dog and ‘Who gets the dog?’. Dogs are part of the family and may people find the way the court…
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Today (Monday 17th January) marks the start of Family Mediation Week. This is an annual initiative when mediators come together to explain more about family mediation and how it can help couples who are separating, or who have separated. There is a different focus each day to look at mediation from different angles and there are many resources being shared along with a variety of events. You can view the full program of events to see what might be useful…
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This is the final part in our blog series looking at what positives there might be following a separation. As we’ve highlighted those going through a separation don’t always see them immediately but it can simply help to know that there might be positives further down the line. The first blog was the introduction and talked about why positives are important, and especially right now during the pandemic. The second blog talked about how there can be an improved relationship with…
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Welcome to this third part in the blog series looking at trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel following a separation. We hope to highlight some positives that you may not have thought of to keep you going in the more difficult moments. It can also be a part of the healing process to start to open up to the possibility that there can be some positives to your separation. These might start really small (so…
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