Hi
I'm looking at family mediation options for a review of maintenance arrangements with my ex. What I find really odd is that whilst mediators are registered via National Family Mediation or the Family Mediation council - once you go to the websites they expect you to book (for quite serious sums of money) without knowing anything about the individual who'll actually be doing the job.
I did a little research - and it turns out that the level of experience & training of a mediator can vary enormously. - They can be fabulous with many years of experience, or just a few hours. - Yet the mediation centres tend to charge one blanket rate.....They don't even put the bios of their mediators up on the website. You have no clue what you're getting.
I find this strange. - Can you imagine purchasing any other professional service costing in the £100s per hour (Doctor, lawyer, psychologist, coach etc.) without getting a clear breakdown on their bio and professional credentials?
Of course one can go to lawyer for mediation which does guarantee you a named person - but it works out a lot pricier - esp as non-lawyer mediators often scale fees by income, and I'm not working right now.
Any local recommendations? - I'm based near Kingston, but happy to travel a bit for someone who is good and reasonably priced.
Thanks.