Mediation in marital conflicts: the persistence of conflict and the clinical point of view

Abstract

This study starts from the complex reality of new configurations of family ties and the possibilities of conflicts that may arise in them. The investigation examines, from a psychological point of view, situations of conflict mediation in marital separations in cases where the intensity of the conflict tends to continue throughout the process. The study also discusses the consequent feeling of powerlessness that may arise in mediators who deal with the situation. Then it reflects about the possibilities for the work of mediation in such cases. For that, it initially approaches marriage conflict in relation to the separation and its losses today. Then it visits and/or “revisits” several authors in the area of mediation. Finally it presents some conclusions about the topic. The study, in spite of being theoretical, is also based on the experiences in the Conflict Mediation Program of UNISINOS (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos), which is linked to UNIPAS/PAAS (Program for Social Action in Health/Project of Outpatient Health Care) and the PRASJUR (Program for Socio-Legal Practices), which are part of the university’s program of social action. At the end it discusses the importance of the clinical point of view in the processes of mediation, and also the importance of the absence, on the part of mediators, of very objective expectations about where the process should get.

Key words: mediation of conflict, clinical point of view, marital separations.