Family Psychology & Mediation

Welcome to our counselling and mediation service, based in the beautiful Adelaide Hills just a stone's throw away from the Mt Barker CBD. We are dedicated to helping individuals, couples, families, and workplaces find solutions that work for them through our comprehensive range of services.

Our team is led by Ian Richards, who holds a BA and MA in Mediation. With many years of experience in the field, Ian is a skilled and compassionate practitioner who is committed to helping his clients navigate even the most challenging situations.

Our Services

We offer a wide range of services designed to help our clients achieve positive outcomes in a variety of contexts. These services include:

• Counselling: We offer relationship counselling, marriage counselling, family counselling, individual counselling, and coaching. No matter what challenges you are facing, our experienced counsellors are here to help you work through them and find a way forward.
• Mediation: Our mediation services are designed to help couples who are separating or have separated come to agreements regarding the care of their children or the sharing of their assets. Mediation is a confidential, less expensive, and less emotionally stressful alternative to court. We specialise in family mediation, parenting plans, financial mediation, and workplace mediation.
• Training: We offer training in mediation, family mediation, parenting plans, financial mediation, and workplace mediation. We also provide clinical supervision for counsellors and mediators.

What is Mediation?

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) where an independent person (the mediator) helps people in dispute to try to sort out the issues between them. ADR can help people to resolve a dispute before it becomes so big that a court or tribunal becomes involved. Mediation is much less expensive, quicker, and less emotionally stressful than court, and is encouraged by the family law system as a practical way of separating families to try to resolve any disagreements and make arrangements for the future.

Who is mediation for?

Mediation is for couples who are separating or have separated and want to come to agreements regarding the care of their children or the sharing of their assets. It is a practical and effective way of resolving disputes without the need for court intervention.

Is mediation confidential?

For matters under the Family Law, mediation is a confidential process and that all information disclosed or shared in our Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) cannot be used in any Court in Australia or in any proceedings before a person authorised to hear evidence as stated in the Family Law Act Section 10J. This confidentiality allows both parties to explore ideas and solutions freely, knowing that their discussions cannot be used against them in court.

What are the advantages of such confidentiality?

With the reassurance of confidentiality, both parties can explore ideas and solutions freely, which can help to generate agreeable and workable solutions. Of course, there are exceptions when serious concerns regarding the safety of others, including children, are identified.

What are the benefits of our Mediation services?

Reaching an agreement with the other party offers many advantages, such as:

• You make your own decisions
• It greatly reduces the financial and emotional costs of legal proceedings
• For families - your continuing relationship as parents is likely to work better
• The opportunity to move forward and make a new life for yourself
• You may develop new ways to communicate with the other person and be better able to resolve disputes in the future

What is the process?

We design each individual mediation session with the aim to maximise the benefit for you. Generally, each person attending mediation will have a confidential and private initial appointment of approximately 1 hour. At this stage, the mediator will listen to your wants and wishes, gain some history of the situation and complete a screening for suitability for mediation. They will also explain the mediation process and cover key important points about mediation. Once all participants have completed their intake, then the tailored mediation appointments are arranged.

What are the costs?

Our mediation process is designed to help reduce the financial and emotional impact conflict can take. The fees are:

• Intake Appointment $150 for the first hour
• Mediation is $130 per person per hour (if mediation occurs at one of our locations or online)

Where there are more than 2 people involved in the dispute, a fee structure will be discussed and agreed to prior to mediation. There may be other incidental fees, for example, out of hours fee, or developing agreements and notes. These will be discussed fully at your first appointment. Rest assure that no extra fees will be charged without your consent.

As a guide, each mediation session is typically 2-3 hours, and most disputes are resolved within 2-3 sessions.