Basic Family Mediation
In the last two decades, there has been a growing emphasis on alternative dispute resolution services to complement the court process and to assist families in resolving family law conflicts after separation and divorce.
Expanding family mediation within family courts can increase settlement options for families and help families move more efficiently through the court process.
Learn at your own pace !
Basic Family Mediation is a generic family dispute resolution course with 40 hours of training that includes lectures, discussions, activities, role plays, video demonstrations and readings.
The course will introduce you to the basic skills, knowledge and competencies required to be an effective mediator.
Topics will include conflict theory and conflict resolution, negotiation, communication, and basic mediation skills.
NEW!! As of the fall of 2024, the course has been updated.
Summary of Updates to the Basic Family Mediation Course
We are excited to announce significant updates to our Basic Family Mediation Course, designed to enhance participants' learning experience. Whether you're just beginning your journey into family mediation or looking to refine your skills, these updates offer valuable, practical insights to help you navigate complex family disputes.
What’s New for 2024?
- Expanded Course Content: We've introduced a broader range of topics, focusing on essential family mediation concepts, techniques, and tools to ensure a well-rounded understanding of the mediation process.
- Interactive Learning: The updated course includes new role-playing exercises, case studies, and self-reflection activities to help participants apply mediation techniques in real-life scenarios, with emphasis on the emotional and psychological aspects of family disputes.
- In-Depth Parenting Plan Module: A newly expanded module on parenting plans provides comprehensive guidance on creating effective, child-centered agreements that address parenting plan arrangements, decision-making responsibilities, and co-parenting strategies.
- Conflict Resolution Strategies: The course now has a greater emphasis on interest-based negotiation, emotional management, and cultural sensitivity, equipping mediators with tools to handle difficult family dynamics while fostering constructive dialogue and collaboration.
- Final Exam & Certification: The course now includes a comprehensive final exam to test your knowledge and skills. Successful completion (at least 70% or higher) will earn participants a certification of completion.
- Self-Paced & Flexible Learning: The course remains fully self-paced, allowing participants to learn at their own convenience while accessing an enriched collection of resources, including updated readings, quizzes, and discussion forums.
Meet your Instructor
Dr. Michael Saini’s scholarship addresses the intersections of law and social work and the advancement of children and families’ wellbeing in systems governed by law. Dr. Saini has generating new knowledge regarding the assessment of coparenting; the complexity of strained parent-child relationships; the impact of interparental conflict; the use of technology to support parent-child relationships; the crossover cases of child protection and child custody disputes; and social-work perspectives on law as socially embedded phenomena. Dr. Saini is a Board Member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, an Associate Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, Lifetime Member of Family Mediation Canada, Associate Member of Ontario Association of Family Mediation and an Editorial Board Member for the Family Court Review and the Journal of Divorce and Remarriage. Dr. Saini has over 200 publications, including books, book chapters, government reports, systematic reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles. In 2019, Dr. Saini was awarded the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award, sponsored by the Oregon Family Institute.
Example Curriculum
Why Enroll?
With the course’s new and expanded content, participants will be better prepared to:
- Mediate complex family disputes involving co-parenting, parenting disputes, and family dynamics.
- Apply advanced mediation models tailored to the needs of diverse families.
- Develop parenting plans that prioritize the best interests of children.
- Gain practical experience through hands-on activities and real-world case studies.