‘We were actually able to sit down and talk’: Australian parents and practitioners navigating dynamics of power and emotion in Family Dispute Resolution

Abstract

The negotiation of parenting arrangements after family separation is complex and emotionally-fraught. Research suggests that Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) Practitioners play a crucial but ambiguous role in managing the complexities of emotion and power imbalances in the FDR process. However, limited research has investigated how parents construct their experiences of FDR and the role of the Practitioner in managing dynamics of power and emotion. Drawing on 87 semi-structured interviews with a national sample of Australian parents who participated in at least one joint FDR appointment, we adopt a social constructionist approach to examine how power dynamics and the emotional dimensions of separation played out in dispute resolution where parents originally achieved an agreement in FDR. We found that Practitioners went beyond the systematic application of techniques to achieve agreement and were attuned to the emotional needs of participants as well as the gendered complexities underpinning these. Given the variety of pathways available to becoming a Practitioner, we suggest that training should provide targeted support to Practitioners in working with these complexities.