(Originally posted on Absolution Mediation)

Why am I so excited you might ask? Because today I’m explaining a little about why I am an advocate and believer in mediation. I am a budding mediator that has just recently opened my mediation practice, and I think it’s about time I tell you why I have fallen in love with mediation.

1. Financially

Whenever you talk to anyone about anything (seemingly) it will always end up with the question, “how much is that going to cost me?” If you were to compare the cost of mediation to the cost of litigation, the cost of mediation is significantly cheaper. I could really talk for a while about why mediation is cheaper, but this isn’t the main thing I like about mediation, however, a frequent question/concern.

2. Puts you in the driver seat

One of the main things that I enjoy is that it puts the parties or people in the driver seat of the solution. You are the one that makes your own solution to the problem, not me, YOU. If I asked you, “Would you rather a judge make a decision about where your child sleeps every night, or would you like to make that decision?” You would probably answer with the latter, because we all want to be a part of the solution.

3. Restorative

One thing that I think divorcing/separating people don’t think about is that if they have children their relationship doesn’t end with a divorce. They will continually be communicating because they have children together. Mediation can help people learn new communicating strategies so that they can be civil to each other in front of their children.

There is a reason that you and your partner no longer get along, but that doesn’t mean your children have to be roped into the issue as well. So why not learn how to communicate with each other for the sake of your children?

These are just 3 of the reasons that I love mediation, and I could probably write post after post on any one of these 3, so each blurb is just one example.

What’s been your experience with mediation?