Allegations of sexual abuse can rip families apart. Traditionally, one solution has been to turn to the legal domain for help. Clinicians who truly want to find a healing place for families that does no involve the legal arena must be able to offer them an alternative solution.

Clinicians must also be prepared to treat the special needs of families already caught in the grips of legal confrontations over memory and issues of abuse. Family members who have the will to seek help need viable alternatives to confrontation, attack and challenge.

This conference will provide practical training to sensitively, safely and effectively work with this special population.

Included in this workshop:

Training to sensitively and effectively resolve family crises involving allegations of abuse.
Developing support and confidence for therapists to offer viable alternatives to adversity including conflict resolution with FMSF families.
Addressing the Self of the therapist's issues involving ambivalence and ambiguity in family life.

Version 2

The therapist mediates effective solutions for a family experiencing highly conflicting interactions. Often families use mediation as a way to attempt to reconcile what previously seemed irreconcilable. Many families have used the Family Dialogue Program to explore the future with members who have not communicated with each other for years.

It is a program that builds hope and safety where it might not have previously existed. The mediation is done on a time-limited basis; this does not include or replace therapy. Mediation is effective for families who want to develop pragmatic solutions to current problematic situations.