The emotional aspect of divorce is often the most challenging, since the parties’ emotions directly impact all of the other elements. It can be described as the “umbrella” that hangs over each of the other elements. Described another way, the emotions are the prism through which the parties view all other aspects of their divorce.
Susan Ingram writes that divorce mediation acknowledges the underlying emotional elements of the divorce and helps each partner to better understand his or her own needs, as well as the needs of the other. When both parties have an understanding of their own needs, as well as those of their partner, they are able to reach a more fair agreement for both of them. This translates into the win-win situation that is often used to describe divorce mediation.