Running Support Groups Nationwide

Most people would applaud the idea of mediating as opposed to litigating if at all possible. It is significantly less costly, quicker and more peaceful than embarking on a court process where decisions and timetables are out of your hands. However, the new idea that all couples need to have a session of mediation before being allowed to engage in the court process sounds good in principle, but not necessarily in practice.  Often one person wants to mediate and the other wants a battle.  Just as it takes two to have a relationship, it takes two to mediate and both people need to be willing.  I am not sure it will have any more of a successful outcome than the last time it was rolled out across the country as a pilot scheme.  In other words, it works where both people are trying for a good outcome.  Making it obligatory will go nowhere near changing the attitude of the person who wants to hide behind their lawyer and act out their anger through the vehicle of the court process.