Relational health is as important as physical health, and in fact, is linked to physical and mental health. If we are on the outs with our spouse, children, or parents, it is difficult to think of much else. We are preoccupied, depressed, anxious or distracted and thus at risk of accidents; and are stressed to the point of headaches, stomach or intestinal illness, insomnia, and lowered immune systems. Family Reconciliation or Intervention Mediation heals relationships and overall well-being.
Mental and physical health, are impacted by unresolved family conflict; which can build into domestic violence if left to escalate over time. When parents are in conflict, not only they, but their children suffer horribly. By the time people seek help, one or both parties are often emotionally divorced before any counseling is even attempted. Counseling is so unstructured, it becomes difficult to keep people from arguing in circles; so people quit within 3 sessions according to national average
Mediation offers so much more than a process to resolve litigation or settle divorces! It is also effective for reconciling relationships--particularly within the family! The structure of the process at IA, assists couples or families in developing concrete, step by step plans to reconcile, making counseling or skills training if needed, more productive when goals are determined and committed to in advance! Families develop plans meeting the needs of everyone involved, thus reducing resistance.
Funds provide space for service to 100 families annually and subsidizes 10 families that have no means to pay and can't even afford sliding-scale! Families are spared mental, physical, financial and emotional costs of divorce or escalation to domestic violence when relationships are reconciled rather than destroyed! This unique mediation process, led by mental health providers, identifies and mediates treatment plans to address undiagnosed mental health issues contributing to family conflict!
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
