Divorce Mediation Training Certificate | Northwestern SPS - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Why divorce mediation?

With a U.S. divorce rate of nearly 50% and more than one million children affected by this difficult process each year, the demand for qualified, empathetic divorce mediation professionals is greater than ever.^{1, 2} Divorce mediation differs from other types of arbitration because it often means helping involved parties continue their relationship in a different form after the mediation process ends. Northwestern’s divorce mediation training program deals with the specific financial, legal, and emotional concerns that come with the dissolution of a marriage.

About the Divorce Mediation Training Program

• Divorce Mediation Program Courses
• Tuition and Financial Aid for Divorce Mediation
• Careers in Divorce Mediation

Course Structure and Topics

This intensive 40-hour divorce mediation training program takes place in-person on our Chicago campus over a single week. The mornings typically consist of lectures, while the afternoons are dedicated to applying those lessons through group discussions, break outs and role play with the help of practicing mediator “coaches.” Past coaches have included certified divorced lending professionals, certified divorce financial analysts, certified divorce real estate professionals, judicial officers, DEI specialists and mental health practitioners.

Students will get to work with a different coach each day, maximizing their exposure to the many industries integral to arbitrating a fair divorce.

Sample course structure is from October 2024.

Other topics discussed during training may include:

• The "interest-based” dispute resolution model
• The time-limited, future-focused, results-oriented, self-determined conflict resolution process of facilitative mediation
• Laws and emotional stages of divorce and family conflicts
• Mediator influence, bias and neutrality
• Mediator credentialing

Divorce Mediation Program Goals

By the end of the program, participants in the Northwestern divorce mediation training program will:

• Understand the principles of interest-based negotiation, encouraging a shift away from litigation and positional bargaining toward solutions that address underlying needs and priorities of individuals and their families. 
• Know the importance of self-determination and informed consent in mediation and empower clients to make their own decisions.
• Have built essential mediation skills such as active listening, reframing, and summarizing, which they will have applied in practice through realistic divorce simulations.
• Have developed an understanding of family systems and how they are impacted by divorce, equipping them to address complex family dynamics during the mediation process.
• Cultivated a professional identity rooted in ethical practice, cultural competence, and the ability to balance neutrality with empathy.

Continuing Education Credits for Counselors, Mediators and Attorneys

IMHCA Credit (Mental Health Counselors)

• The divorce mediation training program is co-sponsored by the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association. The IMHCA is licensed by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation to provide 35 CEs for LSWs, LCSWs, LPCs, LCPCs and LMFTs.

MCLE Credit (Attorneys)

• Northwestern's divorce mediation training course is approved for 35.75 general MCLE credits by the Illinois MCLE Board. The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has approved for 12.25 hours professional responsibility credit. Please be advised that this course does not fulfill the 1 hour of diversity and inclusion CLE or 1 hour of mental health and substance abuse CLE under the revised CLE rule for professional responsibility in Illinois that went into effect on July 1, 2017.
• You may also earn continuing education credits for other jurisdictions. We will be able to complete any required documents, but you will pay the fees for the credits which may range from free to over $100. You may wish to review the American Bar Association CLE website and find your jurisdiction in advance.

Association and Court Approval

Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR)

• Northwestern's divorce mediation course is an Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) approved 40-hour divorce mediation training program. ACR approved courses are accepted by many courts and mediation rosters to meet their basic training requirements in divorce and family mediation. Check with your local jurisdiction for specific information about training requirements.
• Northwestern's divorce mediation certification program is approved by the Arkansas Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and satisfies the 40-Hour Family training requirements for certification as set out in the Requirements for Certification of Mediators for Circuit Courts.

Court Approved Training Program

• Northwestern’s divorce mediation training program has been approved by the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division of Cook County as satisfying one of the requirements to become a Certified Mediator in Cook County. Please see Rule 13.4(x)(b) for minimum qualifications for inclusion on Court-Certified Mediator roster for Cook County Domestic Relations Division.
• Northwestern's training program is approved by the New York State Unified Court System's Office of ADR Programs under Part 146. Registrants who intend to apply to a New York State trial court roster may need additional training in New York court-specific rules and procedures and relevant New York law. Final placement on any court roster is at the discretion of the local Administrative Judge and participation in this course does not guarantee placement on a local court roster
• Northwestern's program is approved by the Arkansas Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to satisfy the certification requirement for a 40-hour family mediation training course as set out in the Requirements for Certification of Mediators for Circuit Courts. 

Find out more

Northwestern's Divorce Mediation Training Program

Divorce Mediation Program Courses

Explore all the Divorce Mediation Program Courses for detail on the program's offerings.

Tuition and Financial Aid for the Divorce Mediation Program

Complete details can be found on the Divorce Mediation Tuition and Financial Aid for the Divorce Mediation Program page.

Careers in Divorce Mediation

Mediators may work for themselves, or be appointed by courts to settle disputes. Judges, attorneys and social workers can further their career or start a new one with this program as a cornerstone. Read more on the careers in divorce mediation page.

Contact SPS Enrollment Advisers

SPS Enrollment Advisers at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies can be a resource to you for inquiries regarding our divorce mediation certification program, as well all other SPS programs.

Divorce Mediation Core Course

Sources

1. Miller, A. (2013, April). Can this marriage be saved?. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/04/marriage

2. Benedek, E. P., & Huettner, S. A. (2020). Divorce and co-parenting. American Psychiatric Association Publishing. http://www.appi.org/Products/Couples-and-Family-Therapy/Divorce-and-Co-parenting