Mediation or family therapy: which one to choose?

Several tips and key ideas to know how to make the right choice between these two types of interventions.

Throughout the evolutionary cycle of a couple or a family, they inevitably go through multiple phases or situations in which, due to many different factors (previous family peculiarities, supervening situations or, simply, the management of daily life where important decisions have to be made), their members have to face or adapt to these new realities that they have to live. The optimal management of these situations favors the growth of the family.However, on other occasions, the crises generated can cause difficulties and conflicts of various kinds.

For these problems, the interventions that have been shown to be the most suitable and efficient are family therapy and family mediationdepending on the need for shorter and more concrete interventions or more extensive and longer-term interventions.

Family therapy and mediation: differences and similarities to choose well.

Although these two ways of working with families have their own objectives and ways of proceeding, in many occasions the distinction between them is not clear. With the purpose of clarifying the fields of action of one and the other approach, we are going to talk, although very generically (with the risk of simplification that this implies) about their main characteristics and differences, which can help to determine which would be the most suitable intervention alternative depending on each family and its needs.

Family therapy

The fundamental objectives of family therapy are the evaluation, accompaniment, orientation and psychological treatment of any problem or clinical symptomatology presented by the family as a whole. Although there is a specific symptom or demand that is, of course, attended to, the psychotherapeutic intervention is approached in a broader way, covering the dynamics and relational patterns of its members, in relation to the problem and, usually, in connection with the history and biography of the family's history and biography, in connection with the history and biography of its members..

The temporal focus in psychotherapy is placed on the present, but in connection with the past: past histories and experiences are explored, as it is understood that the past is fundamental to understand what is happening to them at the present moment. In this sense, the aim is to understand and resolve underlying conflicts or conflicts that are not evident at first sight due to the family dynamics.

The general objective of psychotherapy, therefore, is to accompany and promote deeper and structural changes that allow the family to acquire greater coping resources both in times of crisis caused by the passage from one stage to another in the family cycle, as well as to and to address and resolve underlying psychological or emotional conflicts.. For these reasons, the duration is usually much longer than mediation, since the latter can be reduced to a few sessions.

Family mediation

Unlike psychotherapy, family mediation does not focus on psychological treatment, but on the management and resolution of specific, well-defined conflicts (e.g., in a divorce, child custody). In the case of more substantial problems, mediation would not be the appropriate approach, unless the intervention is very limited to a specific objective and always as a complement to therapy as a general framework.

The temporal focus in family mediation is on the present and, above all, on the future: the attention is preferably placed on manifest conflicts and on concrete and practical aspects such as, for example, decision making in family mediation, for example, decision making in relation to child custody or visitation..

Mediation consists, therefore, in a process of cooperative conflict resolution, in which the parties involved are encouraged to communicate adequately and reach the agreements they consider most appropriate according to their mutual needs.

Neutral attitude as a professional requirement

The family therapist, as the mediator, adopts a neutral attitude towards the family members, although he/she is usually more directive in the sense that he/she evaluates, guides, advises, offers indications, proposes actions, etc.The family therapist, like the mediator, adopts a neutral attitude towards the family members, although he/she is usually more directive in the sense that he/she evaluates, orients, advises, offers indications, proposes actions, etc., always with the purpose of favoring or provoking the change of dysfunctional dynamics and deeper and more general relational patterns.

The family mediator, on the other hand, adopts a less directive role and facilitates communication (through the use of micro communication techniques), helping the participants to reflect on their conflicts and disagreements, encouraging the creative search for possible alternatives, allowing them to make decisions and reach the mutual agreements they consider most appropriate according to their needs and interests.

The decisions that people can reach freely and voluntarily are made in a context of security and confidentiality. in a context of security and confidentialityThe mediator, free of any kind of coercion or reciprocal pressure and without the mediator directing them in any direction: it is up to the interested parties themselves to reach, if they so consider, the agreements they deem appropriate. The mediator neither assesses nor offers solutions to their problems.

Although one of the fundamental objectives of the family mediation is that people reach agreements that allow to solve their conflicts, in many occasions, the most important thing is not so much the agreement itself, as to generate a different and healthier relational space, as well as to offer resources for the management of their conflicts, having a clear preventive component.

Legal aspects

When conflicts can have legal consequences (such as, for example, in a divorce, with the consequent dissolution of the community property or disagreements regarding the custody of minor children), mediation becomes the most convenient method to resolve these issues.

Following Law 5/2012, of July 6, 2012, on mediation in civil and commercial matters, through mediation it is possible to reach agreements that, respecting the current regulations, can later be transformed into a legal document to give it legal status. For this purpose, it is always advisable that the parties be at all times independently advised by their respective lawyers, before formalizing the agreement.before formalizing the agreement that will end up having legal effects.

A combination that works

As we can see, depending on the needs, one or the other approach will be the most appropriate, although, of course, they can also be complementary in order to offer comprehensive care to families and couples. For this, it is necessary for professionals to be trained in both disciplines.

Diego Albarracín Garrido: Psychologist, family therapist, couple therapist and mediator at El Prado Psicólogos..