Deconstructing family mediation practice via the simulated client technique: The case of unresolved marital attachment

Abstract

AbstractData about the nature of the interventions of family mediators and the degree to which they incorporate particular items of divorce law and current divorce‐related research into their practice are largely lacking. This article presents the results of a study examining the working methods of twenty Canadian family mediators using a “simulated client” data‐gathering technique in which mediators were briefed to interview the researchers as a divorcing couple who had come to them for an initial mediation session. The study yielded rich data that are systematic and comparable in relation to a range of core issues in the mediation field, including spouse abuse, power imbalance, dealing with the termination of the marital relationship, structured versus therapeutic approaches, and neutralist versus interventionist styles; mediators' handling of the problem of unresolved marital attachment is examined here.