• Know what provincial and federal legislation governs separation and divorce, with a focus on Alberta legislation 
  
• Understand the issues separating couples commonly need to resolve
  
• Examine the services available to help couples with their separation and divorce and the advantages and disadvantages of each
  
• Understand the ethical considerations at play in bringing people together for what can be highly emotional discussions around life changing events
  
• Explore the emotional impact of separation and divorce on couples and families
  
• Understand the importance of preparing divorcing or separating parties for mediation, including considering what information they might need to make sound decisions
  
• Know what elements need to be included in an Agreement to Mediate for this type of mediation
  
• Consider safety issues when mediating in the context of domestic violence
  
• know how to screen clients and prepare them for mediation, including safe practices for identifying and working with situations of domestic violence 
  
• how to put safety procedures in place
  
• Understand what is meant by custody, access, parenting time, and decision-making 
  
• Understand the needs of children at different ages, and the impact of parental conflict on their well-being and development 
  
• Implement federal and provincial child support legislation and tables
  
• Understand factors impacting child support, both base support (Section 3) and special expenses (Section 7)  
  
• Calculate child support based on different circumstances
  
• Understand common myths about children during separation and divorce
  
• Practice mediating a discussion about parenting plans in role-play scenarios
  
• Critically examine a parenting plan in a Mediated Agreement
  

Experienced mediators and advanced mediation students interested in working in the field of separation and divorce.

ADRIA membership is required to take ADRIA courses and to register into our Program Certificates.

Learners must have successfully completed Communications in ADR and the National Introductory Mediation Training (or equivalent training) prior to registering in this course.

Full attendance for all days of training is mandatory. 

Before the start of the course (in-person training) or Session 3 (online training), all students need to have completed the Parenting After Separation course. This free training is a requirement of the Separation & Divorce Mediation: Foundations, Parenting Plans, and Child Support course.

Please note: the Parenting After Separation for Families in High Conflict course is recommended, but not required.

Full course attendance of all three courses is required to qualify for the Certificate in Separation and Divorce Mediation.

The fee for this course is $2000 plus GST.

Course materials include a Learner’s Manual and a Reference Manual with applicable legislation. All materials are provided in class or online.

This course includes lectures, personal reflection, video, watching a mock mediation, and group discussion. Emphasis is placed on practicing skills and role-playing in small groups.

This class is presented online and consists of 8 sessions over 4 weeks.

Week 1: three sessions (3 consecutive days)

Week 2: two sessions (2 consecutive days)

Week 3: three sessions (3 consecutive days)

Class times:

Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Day 5: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Day 7: 9:45 am - 2:15 pm

Students should be prepared to dedicate 3-4 hours for pre-course assignments.

This course requires approximately 3 hours of course work before each session. 

Attendance for all 8 sessions and completion of all assignments (approximately 8 hours) is mandatory to receive full credit hours.

This course is a required course for the Program Certificate in Separation and Divorce Mediation. It also qualifies for 40 credit hours as an Elective Course for the Program Certificate in Conflict Leadership.

This course qualifies as 40 hours of specialized ADR training towards the Qualified Mediator (Q.Med) and Chartered Mediator (C.Med) professional designations.