After years of working as a social worker, I decided to transition into the field of family mediation. While I deeply valued my time as a social worker, supporting individuals and families in crisis, I found myself drawn to the more collaborative and solution-focused approach that mediation offers. The decision to change careers wasn’t easy, but it was driven by a desire to continue helping families in a way that fosters long-term resolution, empowerment, and communication.
In social work, I often had to intervene in crisis situations where individuals or families were in distress, and I was primarily focused on stabilising these circumstances. While this work was meaningful, I found myself wanting to be more involved in the process of helping families resolve conflicts through their own communication and cooperation. As a family mediator, I can create an environment where families are encouraged to work together to resolve their issues. Mediation gives people more control over the process and outcome, promoting a sense of empowerment rather than dependency on external intervention.
Social work is highly rewarding, but it’s also emotionally demanding. Dealing with cases involving trauma, abuse, and neglect on a regular basis can take a toll on one’s mental and emotional well-being. Over time, I began to feel the weight of constantly managing high-stress, crisis-driven situations. Family mediation offers a more balanced approach to helping people. While I still work with families in conflict, the focus is on facilitating dialogue and finding common ground, rather than managing a crisis. This shift allows me to continue supporting families without the overwhelming emotional intensity that comes with crisis work.
One of the challenges I faced as a social worker was often entering situations when things had already reached a critical point, whether it was family breakdown, substance abuse, or child protection issues. While this work is crucial, I wanted to be more involved in helping families before they reached these critical stages. Mediation allows me to help families prevent conflict from escalating further. By facilitating open communication and helping them find solutions that work for everyone, I can help prevent long-term damage to family relationships. It’s incredibly rewarding to see families come to agreements that allow them to move forward in a more positive and cooperative way.
As a social worker, I often had to advocate for specific individuals, which sometimes meant being involved in adversarial situations, particularly when working with vulnerable clients who needed strong advocacy. While this advocacy was important, I found myself wanting to step into a more neutral role where I could facilitate understanding between all parties involved. In family mediation, I act as a neutral third party. My role is to ensure that everyone has a voice and that the discussions are fair and balanced. This shift allows me to help families reach solutions together, rather than intervening on behalf of just one person or side of the dispute.
The skills I developed as a social worker; such as active listening, empathy, conflict resolution, and understanding family dynamics are all highly transferable to family mediation. In fact, these skills have become some of my greatest strengths as a mediator. However, in mediation, I’m able to apply these skills in a different way. Instead of being a resource for external solutions or support services, I now guide families to find their own solutions. I use my background in social work to help families navigate difficult conversations while ensuring that the mediation process is respectful, safe, and productive.
Mediation is inherently focused on long-term outcomes. The agreements reached in mediation are tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of the family, which means they are more likely to be sustainable. I’m now in a position to help families create plans that will support them far beyond the immediate conflict, whether it’s co-parenting arrangements, financial settlements, or communication strategies.
Family mediation offers more flexibility and predictability. I can now schedule mediation sessions in a way that suits both my clients and myself, giving me more control over my workload and my time. This has allowed me to maintain my passion for helping families without sacrificing my own mental and emotional health.
The transition from social worker to family mediator has allowed me to continue my commitment to helping families, but in a new and more collaborative way. Mediation enables me to empower families to resolve their conflicts, improve communication, and create lasting solutions. While I am grateful for my experiences as a social worker, becoming a family mediator has given me a renewed sense of purpose and fulfilment in my career.
Sally Stokes – Accredited Mediator