I love you when, I love you if, I love you because ... : Relationships Mediation

In Australia family dispute resolution has reached maturity through becoming a profession with obligations and responsibilities for practitioners. Many mediators encourage constructive conversations between separated or separating people about their future as individuals and/or as co-parents. However, the process of facilitative mediation to encourage people to see if there is anything to achieve by discussing how they may be able to stay together has as yet not been fully explored in our country. Relationships mediation offers a facilitative mediation process for partners experiencing difficulties in their relationship who are willing to learn to resolve conflict between them, as many often prefer to stay together. This article illustrates why couples in intimate relationships seem to separate and how perhaps this can be avoided by learning more constructive communication patterns, enhancing their togetherness through mediation.