In family separation, people need containment for the chaos that may be unfolding for them and, hope to see a path forward. For many people, separation exposes them to a range of negative emotions which can strip them of a sense of agency and of their future. As a family mediator, it is typical to meet with people for whom trust, faith and shared futures are gone. People can remain mired in the past and blame, and this can lead to a sense of cynicism and a strong sense of disempowerment.  
 
If there are children then it is in their best interests that their parents find a way to function effectively as co-parents. This can be extremely challenging at a time when parents wish to separate their lives, their duties as parents compel them to communicate and interact. 
 
One way to help parents is through the concept of hope. Hope can provide the motivation for parties to try and choose a different path forward.  Used appropriately hope can provide people with the ability to make an effort, to choose to move forward and to allow themselves to reimagine the future. 
 
Some have seen hope as a negative as it can be deceptive and may encourage delusional expectations. This can be a risk in some cases, where co-operation is interpreted as providing hope for reconciliation. In family mediation, we need to ensure that hope is not creating ‘false’ hope.  
 
Instead a family mediator can work with the parents to use hope as a transformative tool to enable them to move forward. J.R.R. Tolkein compared hope to a fairy-tale, however he also saw that hope has the virtue of allowing us to change and adapt. Without the hope of change and a better path forward many families would remain mired in conflict and negative intimacy. Hope remains a powerful tool in the mediator’s toolbox.

Are hope and despair two sides of the same coin? Michael Schreiner commented that they are two sides of the expectations coin. Both hope and despair are focused on a set of future and unknown circumstances. Schreiner describes them as an educated guess about what will happen. He argues that hope is despair in disguise as if it is not supported by circumstances then the coin will flip and it will be replaced with despair.  
 
Hope can also be seen as delusional. It can be seen as a form of self-deception. Rather than facing up to the realities of a situation, hope may make someone ‘hope’ for the best.  This line of thought argues that hope may prolong suffering as rather than take responsibility for making changes, someone may hope for the solution to appear.  In addition, rather than accepting a negative reality they may deceive themselves.
 
Hope may be seen as preventing us from preparing for the worst. If we cling to hope rather than prepare and take action we may be overwhelmed when positive expectations are not met and negative realities occur.  This is a special type of magical thinking.  A belief that we do not need to anticipate or prepare for negative consequences as can just cling to hope that things will be better.
 
Hope can be seen as an abdication of our personal responsibility to solve problems for ourselves. If we hope that the ‘deus ex machina’ will arrive and save the day we may cease our own efforts.  if we maintain a false hope that a solution will come we may cease to work on our own solutions.
 
Whilst I acknowledge these challenges, I reject these characterisations. From my perspective, hope is an attempt to navigate an unknown future. I applaud the parties in mediation who have the courage to hope that they can make a better reality than the one they have inhabited.  Without doubt it takes courage to choose hope when bitterness and disillusionment beckon from the present and the past. As a problem solver I am interested in what works.  Does it help for parties to despair? Does it help for them to remain mired in blame? 
 
In mediation, I see people who have no reason to trust, deciding to make that leap so that they can motivate themselves to move forward.  Choosing hope is an acknowledgement that the alternative to hope is a never-ending battle. It is a defiant statement that empowers people to create structures and plans for tomorrow.

As summer draws to a close I thought I would post a colouring page (you can access clicking the image below).

Drawing and painting has been a source of mindful practice for me since I was a child.  

​I thought I would share a floral design I made in case you felt like you would enjoy a mini-break.

So time to grab paint, pencil or Copic and get colouring. 
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On 7 August 54 countries will meet in Singapore to sign the UNCITRAL Singapore Convention on International Agreements resulting from Mediation. Once three countries have signed the Convention it will be available for ratification.

At the National Mediation Conference in Canberra earlier this year, I suggested that this could be a Big Bang for mediation in the same way that the New York Convention changed the landscape for arbitration.

Many practitioners argue that the credibility given to mediation by the Convention should encourage parties to mediate their commercial disputes.

What are the key points?

• a mediated settlement agreement ("MSA") is presented to the court of a signatory country then the court is required to recognise and enforce the MSA
• the MSA must be the result of a mediation - although the wording is broad and inclusive
• the dispute must be international e.g. each party has their place of business in a different country
• the dispute must be commercial 
• the MSA should be in writing; signed by the parties; mediation confirmation and meet documentary requirements of the Convention.

Arguably this is the biggest thing to happen to commercial mediation since whiteboards were invented. 

For further analysis of the potential impact, please refer to my upcoming article in the Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal on the Singapore Convention based on my NMC paper.

In 2009, the Hong Kong Government launched a pledge scheme whereby companies could pledge to use mediation first in the event of disputes.

There are now over 400 signatories to the pledge. 

In difficult times, having a process which is respectful, inclusive, future focused and constructive can make all the difference.  Without such a process people can feel despair, anger and deep frustration.  We can see the results of a lack of process on the streets of Hong Kong. It is time to choose.