Ending relationships...

Separation is often traumatic and painful. People can be deeply affected and every bit as damaged as by the death of a close relative. The sense of loss can be very similar to bereavement. The conventional wisdom for people in this delicate and fragile state is to get a good lawyer and battle it out. Sometimes the litigation or negotiations which follow become a bitter rite of passage, infused with revenge and pain.

Divorcing couples may find themselves with separate Court proceedings on several issues. The divorce itself, Court applications over money and property and also proceedings over the children. All this costs many thousands of pounds for each spouse - to say nothing of the stress and the damage done to the couple's ongoing relationship as parents, if they have children.

Mediation offers a practical alternative. Instead of fighting over problems, couples are helped to sort them out. The emotional and financial cost is limited. Often people find they begin to understand each other for the first time for years.

The way relationships end is important. The legacy of the past should not cast a shadow of the future. You may have spent many years together and had children. Don't you want to be able to meet at important family occasions without difficulty?