The resolution of divorce conflict, especially the determination of
child custody, is a major social policy concern of both the legal and
mental health professions. The differences between the adversarial and
mediation legal approaches parallel the phenomenological/psychoanalytic and
the family therapy models of the mental health field. A philosophical and
practical relationship exists uniting the adversarial and
phenomenological/psychoanalytic traditions, while mediation is strongly
aligned with family systems theory and therapy. Each paradigm offers
American families alternative methods of resolving disputes. A greater
synthesis of paradigms is required to give effective help to divorcing
couples and their children.Abstract Teaser