Child-inclusive divorce mediation: report on a qualitative research study

Research into the unique needs and interests of children in the light of parental separation has provided the impetus for many family law mediation practices to include children's voices in divorce mediation. This chapter describes a model of child-inclusive practice in family law mediation (McIntosh, 1998) and its pilot implementation in two diverse Australian contexts. Encouraging findings from the first group of families to work through the model are presented, indicating both anticipated and unanticipated gains for both children and parents.