{2 minutes to read} Emotions can run very high during the divorce process, especially when having overly sensitive conversations where you push each other’s buttons as you discuss issues of disagreement. Both of you start arguing, talking loudly over one another. No one can hear anything anymore. It is time to stop and catch your breath.…
{4:06 minutes to read} In the early ‘60s, Marshall Rosenberg (1934-2015), an American psychologist, teacher, and author, developed Nonviolent Communication, a process for supporting partnership and resolving conflict within people, in relationships, and in society. He worked as a peacemaker and founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international non-profit organization, for which he served…
{3 minutes to read} Let’s be honest: I once worked with a divorcing couple where the parents had agreed in principle that each of them would have the children 50% of the time. The hardest issue for them to accept was being away from their children. When discussing their parenting schedules, the father admitted that his…
{4 minutes to read} Having different religions can cause difficulties within a marriage, but what happens when it causes problems after the marriage is over? Kate and David came from similar backgrounds, grew up with similar values, and married right out of college. It seemed that the main difference between them was that they were of…
1. Pick Your Spot. Try to read the other person’s body language. 2. Tell Them How You Feel. Say that you’ve missed them and express honest regret about how the relationship ended. 3. Maintain Eye Contact. Don’t look evasive or distracted. 4. Acknowledge Your Mistakes and Apologize. Be specific and sincere. 5. Be Realistic. Don’t expect…
{2 mins to read} My last two articles talked about apology and forgiveness. This article is about reconciliation, which can take place between spouses, friends, or colleagues at work. It can even take place between divorcing spouses, as they may want to maintain a cordial or even amicable relationship after the divorce. However, in this…
{1 minute to read} Managing our emotions, feeling them, acknowledging them, and understanding them, whether negative or positive, will help us better manage our interactions with other people. In all types of negotiations as well as in divorce and family conflicts mediation, where the parties are dealing directly with one another, being attentive to our…
{3 minutes to read} I was invited to speak on a panel about the challenges that families encounter when, after a divorce, one parent wants to move to another country with the children. In the role of the mediator, I presented three cases that I mediated where the couples were all expats who had at…
{2:36 minutes to read} When I became a mediator, my mother did not understand why her supposedly down-to-earth daughter was now doing meditation, that is Medi-T-ation! She would keep asking me regularly with a semi-amused/semi-critical tone: “So did you meditate today?” When I explained that I did not do meditation but mediation, that is Medi-A-tion,…
{4:06 minutes to read} In the early ‘60s, Marshall Rosenberg (1934-2015), an American psychologist, teacher and author, developed Nonviolent Communication, a process for supporting partnership and resolving conflict within people, in relationships, and in society. He worked as a peacemaker and founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international non-profit organization for which he served…