The professional you hire controls the process and will discontinue mediation if control or domination occurs in sessions. If one of the parties is unable to be effective during this process, the mediation process will stop. However, many people who have considered themselves the “weaker” of the two spouses have been quite effective in mediation. As an unsophisticated spouse of a very powerful business executive one said, “I have the power to say no, and my spouse better listen or we’ll wind up in court.” If physical and/or emotional abuse, financial abuse, or overall financial mistrust exists, litigation may be optimal. An experienced and reputable divorce mediator will not take cases where physical, emotional, or financial abuse actively occurs.