Do you know the differences between mediation and parenting coordination? Many still do not know it, although the vast majority are unaware of these terms. It is difficult to understand how the two work and where they differ if we do not know what they are.

What is parental mediation and coordination?

Unfortunately, in many divorce cases, parents do not show interest in collaborating in order to solve some things regarding their children. Commonly this ends in conflicts and fights that merit the intervention of a court or professionals to help resolve these disagreements.

Of course, all of this has a very negative impact on the children, while at the same time generating a great drain on the resources of each party. Let’s talk a little about these terms.

Parental mediation

In simple words, parental mediation is a tool which the legislation uses in matters of sons and daughters and their needs. In other words, it is a mechanism that, in a given case, intervenes with the objective of reaching an agreement in the middle of a family dispute.

Following the previous idea, in cases of divorce and separation, this mechanism is intended to allow both parents to get part of what they want. Of course, always looking out for the safety of the children involved.

Parenting coordination

On many occasions, judicial resolutions cannot or are not sufficient to satisfactorily resolve these conflicts. Even psychological therapies or parental mediation can be ineffective. So, what can be done in such cases? Who intervenes?

Parenting coordination is, simply put, a professional intervention that emerged several decades ago. In Spain, this has begun to be developed through different projects and dedicated services have even been created.

Having said that, parenting coordination is a process in which specialized professionals intervene in order to help parents after their breakup. In order for them to intervene, the conflict must be very intense where nothing could be resolved through any means.

What is the difference between parental mediation and parental coordination?

Although they are different things, the truth is that both can converge in some aspects, which makes many people confuse them. For example, both can be seen as alternative dispute resolution processes that seek to provide an agreement through communication between the two parties.

In addition to the above, these are professional interventions that require a mediator. However, there are more differences than similarities between the two, and the most important ones can be summarized as follows:

• That mediation could be applied to different family conflicts, even in business contexts. Parental coordination only intervenes in cases of breakups and if there are minor children in the middle of the conflict.
• Mediation can be extra-judicial or intra-judicial, and is always voluntary. For its part, coordination is not always voluntary, since in extreme cases judicial intervention is required to deal with the conflict.
• Mediation should be confidential, while coordination should not. This is because the professional in charge must issue reports to the court.
  The mediations are brief, as they do not involve many interviews or sessions. On the other hand, parenting coordination can take up to more than two years and multiple interviews.
• While mediation can deal with mild or moderate conflicts, coordination deals with extreme cases and very intense conflicts.

It is very important to have the right advice in this type of cases in order not to make big mistakes. Finally, coordination is used when one of the parents does not accept mediation or does not comply with the agreements.