Divorce is more than a legal process. It is an emotional roller coaster filled with grief, interpersonal and social disruption, and insecurity. Feelings of failure, defeat, rejection, resentment, frustration, pity, rage and guilt may all erupt during some part of the divorce process. The fact that there are children involved adds not only to the legal complexities but intensifies the emotional issues as well. Children are rarely taken into consideration until the custody phase and they often suffer in silence.

With this picture of divorce in mind, there is an alternative to marching off to court to do battle with attorneys portending as gladiators fighting for the rights of their opposing clients. This civilized road is called alternative dispute resolution or divorce mediation.

Mediation allows couple to reach a win-win agreement that they themselves create. The mediator creates the balanced atmosphere in which the parties express their needs and negotiate to get them met. The obvious benefits of less emotional and financial expense aside, mediation allows the parties to get on with their lives more quickly and, because they have a greater degree of control over the outcome of their settlement, there is generally a higher rate of compliance and the parties are less likely to reopen a dispute in the future.

Counseling and Mediation Institute is directed by Dr. Muriel S. Savikas, professional mediator and clinical child psychologist. Dr. Savikas helps families in transition to resolve their issues in a cooperative and collaborative way. Dr. Savikas assists families in negotiating divorce and separation issues, post-divorce issues, parenting arrangements, parent-child conflicts, cohabitation and pre-nuptial arrangements. Says Savikas, "For many years I have seen the devastating effects of litigated divorce on families and children, in particular. My desire is to avert the damage with a mediation process that allows the parties' self-esteem to remain in tact."