What You Need To Know Before Pursuing A Career In Divorce And Family Mediation
Do you enjoy helping people solve their problems? Are you interested in becoming a part of the legal system that helps families coexist while sorting out the division of assets, property, and divorcing in an amicable way? If you said yes, becoming a mediator may be an ideal fit for you.
Unlike three years of law school required to be a lawyer, the requirements to be a mediator are simply a forty-hour mediation class. At the same time, becoming a mediator offers you the opportunity to maintain a flexible business and help those in need of an affordable and efficient process to dissolve their marriage or parentage case.
That said, becoming a mediator does require you to make a commitment to learning the practice and staying up to speed on the new laws governing your industry. Similarly, you will need to possess a specific set of skills to ensure you understand your clients’ needs and issues so that you can facilitate agreements that work for them. To help you understand the requirements to be a mediator, C.E.L. & Associates, Inc. has explained exactly what you need to know before taking up a career in divorce and family mediation. Keep reading to learn more.
Educational qualifications
To become a divorce and family mediator, you require a minimum of forty hours of training. These classes are offered by law schools and bar associations. This will enlighten you about responsibilities and what is expected of you in the event of specific situations. Mental health providers have continuing education requirements which assist them in the mediation process. As attorneys, continuing legal education in all areas of the law is an essential requirement for us. Given that the world is continuously changing, so are the aspects pertaining to family law, mental health, and financial aspects of divorce. This makes it essential for us to stay updated with the latest in our industry.
Required skills
For you to become a good mediator, you also need to possess specific skills to enable you to remain calm and maintain order during the mediation. Some of the skills you should have included the ability to listen carefully, be patient, keep an open mind, avoid judgment, and remain professional throughout the process. Listening with patience is a crucial requirement as you need to remember what all the parties have said to facilitate good agreements on all the issues. There may be multiple sessions when you have to deal with the same issue and you will not be looking back at your notes from prior sessions.
The benefits and challenges of being a mediator
As a mediator, you get to set your own schedule. That means you can work for as long as you want during the day and into the evening. Many mediators choose to work on the weekends. At the same time, as you gain more experience and build your reputation in your industry, you begin to grow as a professional. Moreover, on account of this growth, you get to charge higher hourly rates, if you choose to do so, and work more hours. The better you get at mediating, the more business you will receive in the form of referrals from past clients, attorneys, mental health professionals, and other mediators who may want to give prospective clients a choice of mediators. One of the challenges is that you are taking care of people at one of the most stressful times in their lives. So they are not always their kindest self, they may cancel appointments because they are too stressed to show up or just forgot, they may yell or scream or just not be nice and they may not want to pay if things do not go their way or just because money is tight when they are going through the divorce process. You need to be your most professional self throughout the process and understand that this has nothing to do with you.
If you’d like to learn all about becoming a divorce and family mediator, reach out to C.E.L. & Associates, Inc. We provide divorce mediation and parenting coordinator services across Chicago and surrounding areas.
As professionals, our mission is to facilitate conversations among family members during any kind of conflict or transition. Our Chicago divorce mediators primarily help couples through separation, divorce, and post-decree issues and assist the break-up of their marriage and re-structuring of their family unit. We also handle the cases pertaining to same-sex relationships, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, and parentage cases or couples who have never been married. Our parenting coordinator and divorce mediators in Chicago, IL, even assist individuals having employment or partnership disputes and community or neighborhood issues.
To learn more about our services, please click here or get in touch with us by clicking here.