- Hang in There
When a family is going through separation and divorce it is usually a time of intense emotion for many of the family members. At Goldwyn Lane we offer help at a number of levels.
Counselling
Counselling with a psychologist can help with sorting out which emotions are valuable to moving on to a different life structure. She can show a person how to manage these emotions and not let them get in the way of negotiating the best outcome for all family members, especially the children. A psychologist can assess how each family member is travelling in the process and suggest ways that each one can be supported. Fees for this counselling may be substantially reimbursed by Medicare.
Mediation
Mediation is a service provided to help the parents negotiate the way forward for everyone to move on. Sometimes people get stuck trying to sort it out themselves and frequently get derailed into unproductive arguments. It helps to have an independent person guiding the process and making sure the outcome is fair. We do not have any qualifications for providing financial advice or assisting with property settlement. However, we can give professional input into agreeing on with whom the children will live and how often they will be seeing each parent, where they will go to school, etc.
At the end of a mediation session the couple have the option of having the agreement written up into a Parenting Plan. This can be adhered to for the ongoing management of contact visits, etc. If each party has confidence that the other will abide by the agreement it need not go any further. However, if there are concerns that one party or the other may not follow the agreement and take the children out of sequence, or retain them for longer than agreed, or not allow a scheduled contact to occur, then the agreement can be taken to a solicitor to form the basis of a legal Court Order. (Take note that each further step in Family Law comes with added legal expenses.) If there is no Court Order in place the police will not intervene when the agreement is broken. Note that no parent can be forced to take the children on their scheduled days.
If agreement cannot be reached in the psychologist’s rooms then the parties will each need to engage a solicitor and the four of them sit down to a round table discussion.
Family Reports
Family Reports are provided as part of the next and final step. If the parents cannot reach agreement by mediation or by a round table discussion then the debate is progressed to a magistrate’s decision in the Family Court. To help the magistrate make up his mind a Family Report is written by a psychologist (or other professional). This involves interviewing each of the parents and also the children. Each parent is observed interacting with the children. The psychologist forms impressions and opinions on what she has seen and heard, and makes recommendations in the report.
Reports cannot be claimed on Medicare.