Adult Family Mediation

Your family deserves the best plan possible.

Have relations between family members recently deteriorated due to a disagreement on an impending decision? Or is there lingering family strife that gets in the way of family gatherings or finding a solution to pressing matters that need to be settled?


Family concerns are often sensitive and rife with emotion. It is not unusual for difficulties to arise from the division of an estate, management of a family asset such as a shared summer home or business, or slights perceived years ago.


Though family disagreements are to be expected and some conflict can be constructive, too much conflict can be harmful.


Mediation can provide a productive approach to explore important matters, identify alternative paths forward, address bruised relationships, and provide a collaborative means to enable family members to problem solve. The goal is to achieve understanding and foster harmony. MPNE focuses on not only resolution but also on conflict prevention, skill building, and alleviating on-going disagreements for the long term.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • There is concern about where our mother should live. She lives by herself in a big house and we are worried for her safety. Is it a good idea to have our mother attend the session?

    Whether your Mom attends should be addressed with her. As part of the preparation for the session, and if the family agrees, the mediator would to talk to your Mom and sense her feelings about her children’s concern and her own wishes. At the session sometimes parents just want to listen, sometimes they just want to come to the beginning of the session and then leave, and other times they want to have a voice in the discussion. Maintaining  a parent’s respect and dignity is a key goal for the mediator.

  • My two brothers haven’t spoken for years and our parents 60th wedding anniversary is coming up. I’d like to host a conversation to see if they are interested in trying to repair their relationship and then attending the anniversary party. Can mediation help?

    Lingering conflict is difficult not only on the participants but also on the people around them.  One of the first steps the mediator would take is to interview those involved and find out what would be important for them to participate in the conversation. It isn’t a guarantee that they would participate but it opens the door to the reconciliation. 

  • There are seven siblings in my family and we all live in different states and one in another country. Does mediation require we all be in the same room?

    Simple answer is “no.”  Depending upon participants locations and preference, video conferencing or all or some work fine.