How shuttle mediation can encourage unwilling parties to attend mediation

We understand that divorce can be an emotionally challenging process for participants, especially those who would prefer not to get divorced but have decided to cooperate with their spouse’s decision.

However, even in uncontested divorce cases, there can be an unwillingness to attend mediation sessions once the reality of the process itself hits and the prospect of separating becomes more than just hypothetical.

In contested divorces and acrimonious splits, it’s even more common for one party to refuse to attend mediation.

Once mediation is seen as a way forward, we offer a process called ‘shuttle mediation’ which means there is no need for parties to be in the same room as one another, and this can help in cases where you are not on speaking terms, or in light of issues like domestic abuse where you might reasonably not want to be face-to-face with your spouse.

What is shuttle mediation?

Put simply, the mediator acts as a ‘shuttle’ or messenger, to pass messages back and forth between the two divorcing parties.

In physical mediation sessions, you may be seated in separate but neighbouring rooms. But increasingly, we can offer remote mediation and video/webcam mediation sessions where you do not even need to be in the same building as one another.

Depending on the equipment you have available (i.e. if you have a second webcam) we can even arrange remote shuttle mediation where you are in different rooms of your family home if you find this an easier way to proceed.

How does shuttle mediation help?

Shuttle mediation can be an incredibly effective way to make progress in a wide range of different circumstances, for example:

• Both parties find it difficult to talk without arguing
• One party is ashamed of their actions that led to the divorce
• One party has a legitimate fear of the other

Sometimes one person just doesn’t want to get divorced, and while they may express a willingness to cooperate, it’s not always easy to translate that into physically attending mediation.

At Marcia Mediation we have experienced all kinds of different circumstances and reasons for not attending mediation, and we can talk to both parties – separately, together, or both – to try to identify the obstacles to making good progress.

Shuttle mediation helps you divorce with dignity

We believe strongly in the principle of ‘Divorce with Dignity’ and shuttle mediation is a useful tool to enable this during difficult negotiations and contested divorces.

Using shuttle mediation, we can overcome reluctance to attend mediation by one or both parties. We can work around reluctance to come face-to-face with each other through new methods such as video mediation. We can reduce stress, worry and in some cases, fear of being in the same room.

Crucially, shuttle mediation keeps the process of divorce moving when direct communication breaks down. Ultimately this increases your chances of reaching a relatively amicable divorce agreement faster, with less legal cost, and with less stress for all concerned.

If you are interested in our shuttle mediation or any other mediation services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to help.