Cross-Border Family Mediation: Insights from Lisa Parkinson for Ukrainian Mediators

The Cross-Border Family Mediation 2.0 training programme for Ukrainian mediators, launched on 9 March, is continuing to provide participants with opportunities to deepen their practical knowledge and strengthen their skills in working with complex family disputes in the context of war.

The training, organised by MiKK e.V. – International Mediation Centre in partnership with the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation, is designed to prepare professionals to work with conflicts arising from the forced separation of families.

Four years of full-scale war have profoundly affected the lives of Ukrainian families. According to the UN Refugee Agency, millions of Ukrainians remain displaced, with many families experiencing prolonged separation.

Such circumstances raise difficult questions: How can parents maintain meaningful contact with their children? How can they agree on co-parenting arrangements? How can decisions about a child’s place of residence be made?

In these situations, mediation can become an important tool for finding solutions focused on the best interests of the child while preserving dialogue and communication between parents.

A Unique Opportunity: A Session with Lisa Parkinson

As part of the training programme, participants had the opportunity to join a session with Lisa Parkinson, one of the most influential figures in the field of family mediation and an expert whose work has contributed significantly to the development of family mediation internationally.

The session offered participants a valuable opportunity to ask questions directly, discuss real cases from their own practice, and gain deeper insights into working with complex family conflicts.

Particular attention was paid to how children experience parental conflict and to the role a mediator can play in such situations.

Among the key approaches discussed during the session were the importance of recognising that children often feel caught “between” their parents during conflict; maintaining neutrality rather than taking sides; understanding that the mediator’s role differs from that of a psychotherapist, although the two forms of professional support may complement each other; and helping parents distinguish their relationship as former or current partners from their continuing responsibilities as parents.

Special attention was also given to how emotions between partners can affect their parenting roles and their relationships with their children.

Preparing Mediators for Complex International Cases

The training programme covers key aspects of cross-border family mediation, including the 1980 and 1996 Hague Conventions, international child abduction disputes, child access and custody issues, and mediation tools for resolving cross-border family conflicts.

Separate modules focus on the voice of the child in mediation and trauma-informed approaches.

The programme has been adapted to the current Ukrainian context and the realities faced by families as a result of the full-scale war.

Where to Find Trained Cross-Border Family Mediators

Mediators trained in cross-border family mediation under this programme can be found on the Mediation Help platform.

Partnership and Support

The MiKK CBFM® training is delivered in partnership with the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation and co-funded by the European Union within the ACCORD 2 (MiKK) and CONSENT (UAM) projects, with financial and resource support from IRZ and the German Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJV), as well as training resources provided by the International Training Centre “School of Mediation”.