Family Mediation | Ottawa, Ontario
Separation brings practical decisions alongside emotional change. Family mediation offers a structured process for discussing parenting arrangements, exploring differences, and considering next steps with the assistance of an impartial mediator.
An initial consultation helps clarify the service and possible next steps. It does not commit you or the other participant to mediation.
What family mediation is
Family mediation is a voluntary dispute-resolution process. A mediator helps participants identify issues, organize discussion, and explore options. Participants make their own decisions; the mediator does not impose a settlement.
Agreement is not guaranteed. Participants do not have to accept a proposal. Mediation does not aim to repair a relationship and does not require reconciliation.
Family mediation is separate from psychotherapy, legal advice, arbitration, parenting coordination, and parenting assessments.
Topics
School-week routines, weekends, holidays, vacations, and changes as children grow.
How information is shared and how decisions about education, health, activities, and responsibilities are approached.
Practical expectations for messages, schedule changes, exchanges, and keeping children outside adult disagreements.
Exploring what needs updating when work schedules, children’s needs, or family circumstances change.
The consultation helps determine whether your requested issues fall within the offered service. Ask specifically about financial, support, or property matters; these may require another professional or referral. Obtain independent legal advice about your rights and obligations.
Fictional examples for illustration only. These are not client stories, testimonials, or promised outcomes.
Fictional scenario A
Two parents need to reconsider school pickups, evening care, and weekends. If mediation is appropriate, discussion could explore workable schedules and how future changes will be communicated.
Fictional scenario B
Parents want clearer expectations for practical messages. Discussion could explore communication channels, response expectations, and how to distinguish urgent matters from routine requests.
Fictional scenario C
Fear of consequences raises concerns about whether someone can participate freely. This calls for individual screening and careful consideration of whether mediation should proceed at all.
Suitability, family violence and coercive control
A difficult separation and a pattern of coercive control require different consideration. Attendance alone does not establish that someone can negotiate freely.
Separate screening should consider:
Suitability is reassessed throughout the process. Mediation may need to be adapted, paused, declined, or ended. Separate rooms, shuttle mediation, or online meetings do not automatically make mediation suitable.
Where urgent protection or legal action may be needed, seek appropriate legal or emergency assistance. Mediation is not an emergency service.
Related screening service
Concerns about violence, control, intimidation, or pressure may affect participation in mediation and other separation-related decisions. Individual screening provides an opportunity to discuss these concerns and consider appropriate next steps.
Screening is not a custody assessment, credibility determination, legal finding, or guarantee of safety.
Process
Discuss goals, ask questions, and clarify scope, current fees, and possible next steps.
Each participant has an individual opportunity to discuss suitability, safety concerns, and participation needs.
Review roles, consent, confidentiality and its limits, format, fees, records, and how participation may end.
If appropriate, identify the agenda, explore options, and allow time for reflection and independent advice.
Clarify how tentative understandings will be recorded and encourage independent legal review before signing an agreement.
Both participants must voluntarily agree to mediation.
About Raquel Soteldo
Raquel Soteldo is an Associate Family Mediator, Registered Psychotherapist, Canadian Certified Counsellor, and Founder and Clinical Director of Soteldo Psychotherapy Clinic Inc.
She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and a Family Mediation certificate from Herzing College. She is a doctoral student in clinical psychotherapy, with expected graduation in December 2027.
Raquel has worked with high-conflict cases since 2020. Her psychotherapy practice focuses on intimate partner violence, coercive control, post-separation abuse, narcissistic abuse, and relational trauma.
She founded the National Center of Excellence for IPV and Coercive Control, an initiative developed through Soteldo Psychotherapy Clinic Inc., and created the B.R.A.V.E. Framework™: Build Safety, Recognize Control, Anchor Stability, Validate Experience, and Empower Agency.
Her clinical and educational background informs attention to relational dynamics and participation concerns. In mediation, her role is impartial and distinct from psychotherapy.
An existing or previous therapeutic relationship must be assessed for conflicts before a mediation role is considered.
B.R.A.V.E. Framework™ © 2026 Raquel Soteldo. Trademark pending.
FAQs
No. Mediation and therapy have different purposes and roles. Couples therapy is a clinical service focused on the relationship and emotional wellbeing. Family mediation is a voluntary dispute-resolution process that helps participants organize discussion and explore options about specific decisions, such as parenting arrangements. It does not aim to repair the relationship or require reconciliation.
Yes. You can book a consultation or send an inquiry on your own. Mediation itself, however, requires the voluntary participation of both participants, and each participant has a separate intake and screening.
Yes. Mediation is voluntary. Both participants must agree to take part, and either participant may decline a proposal or end their participation.
A “high conflict” label does not on its own decide whether mediation is appropriate. Suitability depends on individual screening, including whether each person can participate and disagree freely.
Please raise these concerns during the consultation or your individual intake. Family violence, intimidation, monitoring or fear of retaliation affect whether mediation can proceed, whether it needs to be adapted, or whether it should not take place. Separate rooms or online meetings do not automatically make mediation suitable. If you need urgent protection, contact emergency or legal services.
Independent legal advice is encouraged before and throughout mediation, and before signing any agreement. The mediator is impartial and does not provide legal advice to either participant.
Confidentiality in mediation has legal and contractual limits, including duties to report certain safety concerns. These limits are explained and reviewed in the agreement to mediate before mediation begins.
Current fees are confirmed during the initial consultation and in the agreement to mediate, before any services begin. Please do not assume mediation is covered by psychotherapy benefits; check with your insurer.
It varies with the number and complexity of issues, the participants’ needs, and the time needed for reflection and independent advice. There is no set timeline.
Available formats are discussed and confirmed during the consultation and intake. Any format is considered as part of suitability; a particular format does not on its own make mediation appropriate.
No. A mediation summary or memorandum of understanding is not itself a final, legally binding separation agreement. Independent legal review is encouraged before any agreement is signed.
Dual roles require a conflict assessment. An existing or previous therapeutic relationship must be assessed for conflicts before a mediation role is considered, and in many situations a different professional would be more appropriate.
Bring your questions about goals, suitability, process, and fees. You do not need to have everything figured out before making an inquiry.
In Jane, select ‘Family Mediation & Therapy’ and look for the family mediation consultation.
Email: info@soteldotherapy.com
Please keep sensitive personal and legal details out of initial email inquiries.
24-hour support for women experiencing abuse in Ontario.
French-language support for women experiencing violence in Ontario.
Support and referrals after crime or traumatic circumstances. Appointments required; not an emergency response service.
Ask about domestic violence and family-law legal assistance. Eligibility depends on the program.
If someone may monitor your device, consider using a safer device to access support. External services have their own hours, eligibility, and privacy practices.
Contact the clinic
This inquiry is private and is never shared with the other person. Each person is screened separately before mediation begins. Share only what you need to book; details are discussed in your confidential screening.
Submitting this form does not start mediation or create a client relationship. The clinic will reply to arrange next steps.
