Importance of Intake in Parent-Child Mediation

• NCJ Number: 109725
• Journal: Mediation Quarterly Issue: 18 Dated: (Winter 1987) Pages: 73-78
• Author(s): D C Murnion
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the Academy of Family Mediators' Third Annual Conference in St. Paul, Minn., on July 17, 1986.

Annotation

After describing the parent-child mediation program in Orange County, N.Y., and its psychodynamic basis, this article explains the nature and importance of the intake component of the program.

Abstract

Parent-child mediation is a unique form of conflict resolution because an inherent imbalance of power normally exists in the relationship. In cases of abnormal conflict, the power imbalance has become dysfunctional. Adjustments are required to restore an equilibrium to the imbalance of power. The Orange County Parent-Child Mediation Program uses a four-session model of mediation plus an initial intake session. The intake session is conducted by the intake coordinator, and the mediation sessions are conducted by single mediators trained in parent-child mediation techniques. The intake consists of an overview of the mediation process, a description of the mediator's role, an explanation of the confidentiality and voluntariness of mediation, examination of the family's social history and present status, and the determination of mediation as a viable alternative. Although the primary function of the intake coordinator is to assess the family's amenability to mediation, the primary goal of the intake session is to give the family hope for resolving the conflict.