How mediators are helping people to resolve disputes associated with later life is the topic of this recent podcast from Age Space. Concord’s Tracey Adamson was delighted to be a guest. She shares her expertise in the specialist field of elder mediation alongside fellow elder mediator Margaret Doyle.
The podcast is a lively chat with the series hosts, broadcaster Daisy McAndrew and Age Space founder Annabel James. Age Space offers an online community for people caring for older relatives.
Tracey and Margaret explain what mediation is and isn’t and how and why it works. They also look at the kinds of later life issues that people bring to mediation.
This includes estrangement between parents and adult children, decisions and practicalities about support or care for older relatives, and concerns about inheritance and financial matters.
Sensitive topics
Recognising the need for constructive conversations around these sensitive topics, Tracey and Margaret offer tips for getting off on the right foot. They discuss the importance of finding a good time and place to talk, how to listen well, and how to help others hear your concerns.
Tracey acknowledges how these family conversations can often get bogged down in historical issues. She says: “While a bit of exploration can be quite helpful to understand where anger or upset is coming from, our role is to keep the conversation moving. We keep people focussed on what needs to be sorted out.”
She explains that the role of mediators who are accredited to work in these situations is to ensure the voice of the older person is heard. “Our ethos is about respecting the rights of everybody in the room. It comes down to making sure whatever is agreed by the participants sustainable… It is in everybody’s interest that it will work in practice.”
Margaret and Tracey, along with Freddie De Luca (also from Concord), are the first mediators in England to achieve specialist accreditation to work with later life issues.
The Age & Stage podcast is among a range of helpful online resources provided by Age Space. It is aimed at anyone with concerns about, or caring for, an ageing parent or relative, neighbour or friend.
Do you need to reach a decision, resolve a dispute or have a constructive conversation about later life concerns? We’re happy to discuss how we can help. Please get in touch to find out more.
