MCFM 2025 Family Mediation Institute (Online)

Welcome
Mary Sheridan, J.D., and Susan Klebanoff, J.D.
Co-Chairs, MCFM Institute Planning Committee

Have you ever been stumped, and discouraged, by the continuing and sometimes escalating couple conflict in the mediation room - despite your very sincere efforts? Do you sometimes feel like your "case" is drowning and you are desperate for an oxygen tank?

In this workshop, we will learn how asking about the parties' hopes and diving deeply into their perceived threats can bring fresh air to our family mediation work. Working with the "Insight Approach" to conflict, we will learn to notice and effectively respond to conflict behaviors. We will learn how and when to ask questions to unearth the threats that escalate and sustain conflict, without provoking it, and how to use what is learned to promote an authentic shift from conflict to collaboration, without forcing or faking it.

Participants Will Learn:

• New ways of thinking about interpersonal conflict
• New skills to notice and intervene in conflict (early and often)
• How to help clients talk about what matters in ways that do not threaten
• How to ask about hopes in a productive and meaningful way
• How to stop talking about what we think the conflict is about and ask
• How to ask engaging questions to help the parties reveal what really matters
• How to use what is learned in generating options for agreement

What to Expect:

A Definition of Conflict That Makes Sense: Gain a fresh perspective on conflict that makes sense for the relational work we do.

Effective Interaction and Intervention Skills: Acquire the tools to navigate conflicts with finesse, helping us (and our clients) gain insight and achieve a state of calm.

Understanding the "How" and "Why" of Conflict Behaviors: Learn how noticing conflict behaviors can help us explore the threats that are getting in the way of productive dialogue, empowering us to work effectively and authentically with the problematic behaviors.

Shift from Telling to Asking: Experience the liberating and profound shift from telling to asking, enhancing effectiveness by asking better questions and harnessing the power of curiosity.

Who Should Join:

Mediators and Collaborative Professionals who want to:

• Be more comfortable and authentic in conflict situations.
• Get away from a "fix-it" mentality - and be more effective as a result.
• Respond thoughtfully (rather than reactively) to obstructive behaviors.
• Infuse our work with the humanity and values that brought us to this work.
• Bring productive curiosity to professional life and foster personal growth.

The Goal for You:

Deepen your skills and authentically apply the Insight Approach to your mediation and collaborative work. Transform the way you experience and respond to conflict.

About the Keynote Speaker:

Jacinta Gallant is a respected Canadian collaborative lawyer, mediator and educator. She is recognized internationally for her insightful and experiential approach to teaching and managing conflict, and has been welcomed as a trainer throughout the world. Jacinta’s innovative resources, Our Family in Two Homes, and Designing Our Future Together help clients prepare to engage deeply, and productively, with Family Lawyers, Mediators. Jacinta’s podcast, The Authentic Professional, focuses on how professionals can bring more of who they are to what they do, and her latest book, Going Steady, helps engage couples in conversations that sustain and nourish their relationship.

Visit Jacinta's website to learn more.

Presentation of the 2025 John Adams Fiske Award for Excellence in Mediation

Family Law: The Year in Review
Jonathan E. Fields, J.D.

A must-attend update on key cases, legislative changes, and trends in Massachusetts family law.

SAFeR Mediation

Diana Griffin, Attorney Advisor, Battered Women's Justice Project

This training will look at the SAFeR process and mediation tool to give practitioners a mechanism to determine if a survivor of IPV can move forward safely with the mediation process.

At the end of the training, attendees will :

1) Identify challenges in family cases involving intimate partner violence, including how IPV affects both parties and the dispute resolution processes 

2)  Evaluate how the type, context, and dynamics of IPV—including coercive control—influence the selection of appropriate dispute resolution processes and the use of necessary safeguards

3) Apply SAFeR mediation tool to effectively assess safety concerns and tailor mediation or court-connected interventions.

Three Financial Questions Every Client Needs Answered in Mediation: A Framework for Better Decisions
Chris Chen, CFP, CDFA and Diane Pappas, CDFA, CQS

Clients often come to mediation with deep anxiety about their financial picture, past, present or future. As mediators and financial professionals, Diane and Chris have learned that a key to sustainable agreements lies in helping clients answer three critical questions.

1. Where am I now? (What does my financial life look like today?)
2. Where will I be the day after the divorce? (What will I walk away with and how does it affect my lifestyle?)
3. Will I be okay? (Do I have long-term financial stability and peace of mind?)

This three-question framework helps clients make informed, thoughtful decisions enabling mediators to guide the process more efficiently. We've found that when clients are financially informed, they're less reactive, more cooperative, better positioned to negotiate in good faith and better able to provide informed consent.

In this workshop, we'll share:

• A set-by-step walkthrough of our "Three Questions" model
• Real-life examples where financial clarity prevented costly mistakes
• How we present complex financial data in a way clients can actually understand
• Tools you use even if you don't have a financial expert on your team

This session is ideal for mediators who want to improve client outcomes, reduce post-divorce regret and avoid impasses on financial issues - whether they partner with financial professionals or not.

Learning objectives:

• Learn a client-centered framework to guide financial conversations in mediation
• Understand how informed clients make faster, more durable agreements
• Explore practical ways to address financial concerns without stepping outside your mediator role
• Identify opportunities to refer clients for financial insight while maintaining neutrality

Early Registration discount rate through December 5, 2025:

MCFM Members $170
Non-members $210

The early discount fees above will be honored through the conference. These are the same early registration rates we've charged for our virtual Institutes since 2020.

What's Included: Live sessions and conference materials.

Recording: The conference will not be recorded.

Payment: MCFM accepts major credit cards online only (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, AMX). Sorry, no checks.

TUITION ASSISTANCE: Limited scholarship assistance for the Institute will be considered upon email request to Mary Sheridan , Co-Chair of the Institute Planning Committee.

MCFM CANCELLATION POLICY: A full refund (less the $25 cancellation fee) will be issued for any registration cancelled by November 28, 2025. No refunds will be granted after November 28, 2025. Substitutions are permitted at any time. Cancellations will be acknowledged but refunds will not be issued until after the Institute.