Other Places That Can Help
Mediation, counselling and legal advice are all very important services and all quite different. Perth Mediation Centre will not offer either counselling or any kind of legal advice.
Self care
Conflict of any kind is very hard work, so is the burden of really important decision making.
Thinking about what could go wrong, or the impact our decisions might have on others can wear us down.
Perth Mediation Centre recommends talking to others at times when worries or emotions start to take over life. This might involve close friends or relatives who care about us and are happy to listen. We also believe that counselling is very helpful.
Trained and experienced counsellors can help us work through our emotions and the things that worry us. This can really help during mediation because this requires the thinking and analytical parts of our brain to be working at their best. Counselling with a professional counsellor can help us to work through emotions to be thinking more clearly about the things we need to agree on with others.
Mediation and counselling are different so we recommend seeking out a counselling service that will work for you. There are community organisations that specialise in providing counselling services and there are private services that might be able to match an appropriate counsellor to meet your needs a little quicker.
Being confidential and impartial (not taking sides) are important parts of both mediation and counselling. That’s why we recommend accessing these services from different specialist providers.
Family doctors can also recommend counselling in a way that will help access Medicare funding to help cover the cost.
Community Counselling
Relationships Australia
ph: 1300 364 277
LifeLine
ph:13 11 14
Beyond Blue
ph: 1300 22 4636
Private service
Davidson Trahaire
ph: (08) 9273 8800
Life Resolutions Morley
ph: 1300 541 740
Legal rights and obligations are integral parts of life and agreements made in mediation may have legal consequences.
Perth Mediation Centre encourages participants in mediation to think carefully about the obligations and legal consequences of any agreement. Mediators do not give legal advice and will not engage in legal work of any kind so advice about these things must come from an appropriately qualified legal adviser.
There are community legal services and private providers that have specialist skills and knowledge about different aspects of the law.
Community Legal Services
The Community Legal Centres Association of WA (the Association) is the peak organisation representing the 28 Community Legal Centres (CLCs) operating in Western Australia which provide free or low cost legal help to the community.
Ph: (08) 9221 9322
Legal Aid Commission of WA
Legal Aid Commissions are offered by government to assist people to navigate justice related issues. They maintain informative web sites, duty lawyers in many courts and may assist with direct legal advice or offer funding for private lawyers. There are some limitations around who, and how much assistance can be provided.
Ph: 1300 650 579
Aboriginal Legal Service of WA
The ALS maintains offices around WA where legal advice and representation is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The ALS will either provide services directly of make appropriate referrals.
Ph: (08) 9221 1767
Private Legal Services
The Law Society of WA offers a referral service and maintains a registry of specialist lawyers under levels of quality assurance and accreditation.
Ph: (08) 9324 8600