Family Meditation Blog
Building Bridges With Words
I am a peace-maker at heart and I think through and reflect on the conflict I see around me.
On the pages of this blog, I’ll write about the tips and tools I’ve found to be helpful to families navigating separation, divorce, or conflict in general. I will reflect on my own experiences and draw out themes with the hopes that they might resonate with you and you find something meaningful in them.
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About the author - Dr. Sara Shamdani
I am a socio-political scientist, a published author and a mediator, with a life-long passion for learning and transforming. As a first-generation immigrant and a racialize woman, I think through and write about conflicts in various systems of operations, whether in family or the workplace and offer ways of working through and transforming those conflicts for the creation of stronger communities.
Check out this free Family Negotiation tool-kit that was created through research and data to help you understand the details of negotiating your separation. Download now here.
What I have learned as a family mediator: things that will help and hinder a mediation process?
Family mediation goes only as fast as the parties’ agreements. I have mediated cases where it only took 90 minutes to work out an entire parenting arrangement and I have also mediated cases where it took months to bring people closer together. Here is what I have learned which help move the mediation process along, save time and money for the couple, and the issues that will stall the mediation process.
What is full financial disclosure in Family Mediation and how do I prepare for it?
Working through your finances when separating often includes calculating child support, negotiating spousal support and an equitable division of your assets and arrears. We walk you through the documents that you need to collect for financial disclosure
Family Negotiation Toolkit
Get access to information because informed decisions will lead to longer lasting agreements. When parties are willing to work through their disagreements with kindness and with as much peace as possible, it will serve the unique needs of their families.
Family Mediation vs. Court
Separation and divorce are considered the second-highest stress factor in someone’s life, preceded only by the death of a loved one. During this transitional time conflict can rise to a new level that hadn’t even existed before. Some systems and individuals can help reduce the conflict or contribute to heightening it.