Two people talking across a table in a glass-walled room, trees outside, a carafe of water between them.
What we help with

Talk First

Before you come

The room

2 Abbey Mews, York
two doors, two waiting rooms

Talk first,
then decide

Family mediation for parents who are separating. A calm table, two mediators, and agreements you both wrote.

See how it works

Weekdays and Saturdays

First meeting on your own
01904 960 341

What parents agree at our table

Most couples come for one of these and leave with a written plan for all four. Usually in three or four sessions.

A man in a light blue shirt talking earnestly to a woman across a small table with two cups.

Session one

Where the children live, and when

School weeks, holidays, birthdays, who picks up on Wednesdays.

A man and a woman sitting on chairs facing each other in a bright, sparse office.

Session two

The house

Sell it, keep it, or wait until the youngest finishes school.

Two people sitting on a floor by a tall window, talking, a table between them.

Session three

Money and pensions

Who pays what, and a fair share of what was built together.

Three people in conversation on low sofas by a big window in a quiet room.

Session four

The plan, in writing

One document you both read before anything is signed.

Nobody here takes a side. We keep the conversation on the children and on what happens next.

Two people in silhouette sitting by a window overlooking the sea. Two silhouettes talking at a table in front of a bright window with palm trees beyond.
Two women in silhouette at a table in a bright café, one with her head in her hand.

Before the first session

You come alone, first

Each parent has a separate first meeting of forty-five minutes. Nobody is in a room with the other person until both have said yes.

What a mediator will not do

Decide for you, give either of you legal advice, or tell a court what was said. What you say here stays here.

Bring the dates

School terms, work shifts, the holidays already booked. Most arguments are about a calendar.

Help with the cost

If you are on a low income, mediation may be free. We check that in the first meeting.

When this is not the right thing: if there has been violence or you are afraid of the other person, tell us in your first meeting. We will help you find the right kind of support instead — mediation should never feel unsafe.

A close view of two hands shaking, one in a green knitted sleeve.

£120 a session, each

Ninety minutes, two mediators, and a written summary afterwards. The first meeting on your own is £60, or free if you qualify for help.

Book a first meeting