Separation & Divorce · Family Mediation Screening
Before negotiating, consider safety, power and choice.
Separation and divorce can involve more than disagreements about parenting, finances or communication. Screening provides a structured opportunity to explore violence, intimidation, coercive control and power imbalances that may affect participation in family mediation.
Raquel Soteldo, Registered Psychotherapist and Associate Family Mediator, offers a place to discuss these concerns and clarify the purpose and suitability of screening in your circumstances.
For an initial inquiry, avoid sending sensitive case details. Ask how to arrange a private conversation.
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You do not need a police report, a diagnosis, or certainty about what to call your experience to ask about screening.
Why screening matters during divorce
A person may appear calm, cooperative or willing to settle while feeling unable to disagree, disclose concerns or refuse a proposal. Screening considers the relationship context and the possible consequences of saying no.
Relevant concerns may include intimidation, surveillance, restricted access to money, unwanted contact, threats involving children, sexual coercion or pressure to accept an agreement.
Screening helps inform whether mediation is appropriate, whether additional safeguards should be considered, or whether another process or specialist support is needed.
An agreement is not, by itself, evidence that participation was free from pressure.
Understand the terms
Domestic violence
A commonly used term for abuse in a domestic or family context. It may involve intimate partners or other family relationships; its meaning varies with the setting.
Intimate partner violence
Abusive behaviour by a current or former intimate partner. It may include physical, sexual, emotional or economic abuse and can continue after separation.
Coercive control
A pattern of behaviour that restricts another person’s freedom through intimidation, surveillance, isolation, threats or control of everyday life. Context, fear and the consequences of resistance matter.
Visible injuries are not required for a concern to deserve attention. A single serious incident can also require urgent attention.
Main resource
Mediator’s Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns–Short
MASIC-S is a structured screening tool developed for family-law cases involving current or former intimate partners. It is administered verbally by a professional and helps inform consideration of mediation suitability, accommodations and referrals.
The shortened instrument was developed by Rossi, Applegate and colleagues, building on the original MASIC by Holtzworth-Munroe, Beck and Applegate.
Western University’s Family Violence Family Law resources describe its incorporation into screening protocols for Toronto family-court mediation.
What the screening process involves
Discuss why screening is being requested, who may receive information, how records will be handled, and the limits of confidentiality. Establish a safe contact method.
Screening interviews take place separately. Each participant needs an opportunity to discuss their experiences without the other person present.
Explore whether participation can be voluntary and informed, whether accommodations may be appropriate, and whether specialist referrals or alternatives should be considered.
Screening is an ongoing part of mediation. New information or changing circumstances may require the process to be modified, paused or ended.
An individual screening appointment does not establish that an entire mediation case is suitable to proceed. The mediator responsible for the case retains responsibility for their intake, suitability decisions and ongoing screening.
Before booking, confirm whether the appointment is individual screening, mediation intake or a referral consultation.
Fictional divorce-related scenarios
These fictional scenarios illustrate issues that may be explored during screening. They are not client stories, testimonials, diagnoses or MASIC-S questions.
A person receives repeated messages insisting they accept a proposed settlement immediately. Their former partner threatens consequences if they seek independent advice.
Can the person take time, obtain advice and decline a proposal without intimidation?
A former partner controls access to shared funds and threatens to stop paying essential expenses unless particular parenting or financial terms are accepted.
How may financial dependence or threats affect the person’s ability to negotiate freely?
A former partner demands location access, checks communications and reacts with accusations or threats when boundaries are set.
Is access freely chosen? What happens when the person says no?
Child-related messages are used to demand personal information, threaten consequences or create repeated unwanted contact.
What communication is necessary, and how is the contact affecting safety and freedom to make decisions?
Possible next steps after screening
Further consideration of mediation
Where appropriate, the responsible mediator considers whether the process can proceed.
Consideration of adaptations
Options may include shuttle mediation, separate participation, carefully planned remote arrangements or other accommodations. These measures do not make every case appropriate.
Referral, pause or an alternative process
Specialist safety support, independent legal advice or another process may be needed. Mediation should not proceed where appropriate participation and safety cannot be sufficiently addressed.
Screening does not require you to reconcile, agree to a settlement or participate in a joint session.
About Raquel Soteldo
Registered Psychotherapist · Associate Family Mediator
Founder & Clinical Director, Soteldo Psychotherapy Clinic Inc.
Raquel Soteldo’s work brings together psychotherapy, family mediation, clinical supervision and professional education, with a focus on intimate partner violence, coercive control, post-separation abuse and relational trauma. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and offers services in English and Spanish.
In her family mediation work, Raquel considers how relationship history, power imbalances and fear may affect a person’s ability to negotiate and make decisions freely during separation or divorce. Her approach pays attention to patterns across time and to the circumstances surrounding an individual interaction.
Raquel founded the National Center of Excellence for Intimate Partner Violence & Coercive Control, an initiative developed through Soteldo Psychotherapy Clinic Inc. Through the Center, she develops professional education, consultation and training for clinicians, frontline professionals and organizations working with individuals and families affected by IPV and coercive control.
Raquel created the B.R.A.V.E. Framework™ to support recognition of IPV and coercive-control patterns and a trauma- and violence-informed professional response.
The framework guides attention to safety, context and agency. It is distinct from the MASIC-S screening instrument and is not presented as a validated diagnostic or violence-prediction tool.
B.R.A.V.E. Framework™ © 2026 Raquel Soteldo. Trademark pending.
FAQs
You do not need to decide on a label before asking about screening. You can describe the behaviours, your concerns and the divorce or mediation process being considered.
Yes. Threats, isolation, monitoring and restrictions on money or movement can form a pattern of control without physical assault. Behaviours need to be understood in context.
No. Mediation screening interviews are conducted separately. Screening both participants is different from interviewing them together.
Yes. You can ask about an individual appointment. Clarify its purpose and how it would relate to the intake and screening requirements of any mediator handling your case.
Before screening begins, clarify confidentiality, its legal limits, consent, record handling and any proposed sharing of recommendations. Do not assume that screening answers will be shared with another participant or provided as court evidence.
No. Screening is not a legal finding, a parenting evaluation or a diagnosis of an absent person.
No. Screening may inform a decision to consider mediation, make changes, seek further support, pause or use a different process.
This page concerns screening in the separation, divorce and family mediation context. Psychotherapy is a distinct service and requires its own agreement.
Safety and community resources
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Ask about domestic violence, IPV, coercive control and power imbalance screening during separation or divorce.
Confirm service suitability, fees and availability before booking. Consider a safe email address and how messages or appointment notifications may appear.
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