High-conflict couples engage in child custody disputes must undergo a pre-mediation screening. The screening is critical to determining whether or not disputes would benefit from mediation. To protect family violence victims, screenings are done individually as opposed to joint sessions.
Sometimes courts refer high conflict couples to mediation, although they are unlikely candidates. One spouse may be open to reasonable negotiations, while the other is bent on aggression. A pre-mediation screening rules out mediation when the uncooperative parent sabotages the process.