ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the literature on divorce dispute resolution. It looks at inter-professional tensions in the management of divorce cases. The chapter discusses the research findings from a range of mediation studies. Divorce mediation is a process that contrasts markedly with the model assumed by much of the commentary. Kressel et al. considers the impact of different mediator styles in custody mediation. Most mediation research derives from the USA, with British research still very much in its infancy. In mediation, however, the mediator retains the crucial expert power, which can then be shared, and used for mutual benefit. Helm et al. argues that divorce mediation and psychotherapy can be interdependent, and that when they are practised collaboratively, specific benefits can result to divorcing people. Kelly et al. reports on a comparison between mediated and adversarial divorce. Parkinson includes a section on 'managing open and violent conflict' in her discussion of the role of the conciliator in separation and divorce.
