2147060508 
8140 Walnut Hill Lane Suite 500
Mary Sanger Biography
With 20 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, I offer a compassionate and effective alternative to traditional divorce. Witnessing the emotional toll of litigation on families inspired me to become trained and certified in family law mediation, parent coordinating, parent facilitation, and collaborative divorce. My expertise extends beyond divorce to also include working with adult families experiencing conflict, including disputes within family-owned businesses and disagreements between adult children...
With 20 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, I offer a compassionate and effective alternative to traditional divorce. Witnessing the emotional toll of litigation on families inspired me to become trained and certified in family law mediation, parent coordinating, parent facilitation, and collaborative divorce. My expertise extends beyond divorce to also include working with adult families experiencing conflict, including disputes within family-owned businesses and disagreements between adult children that cause distress for aging parents. I practice a "party only" mediation model. While clients in legal disputes may retain attorneys, the mediation process involves only the clients. They have time to consult with their attorneys before reaching a settlement. My unique background allows me to guide couples through the complexities of divorce and assist adult families in resolving challenging dynamics with a focus on minimizing emotional damage, prioritizing well-being, and fostering more respectful and thoughtful communication. I help clients navigate difficult conversations, develop child-centered parenting plans (in divorce cases), and approach conflict resolution with their best selves.
Approach
With 20 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, I offer a compassionate and effective alternative to traditional divorce. Witnessing the emotional toll of litigation on families inspired me to become trained and certified in family law mediation, parent coordinating, parent facilitation, and collaborative divorce. My expertise extends beyond divorce to also include working with adult families experiencing conflict, including disputes within family-owned businesses and disagreements between adult children...
With 20 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, I offer a compassionate and effective alternative to traditional divorce. Witnessing the emotional toll of litigation on families inspired me to become trained and certified in family law mediation, parent coordinating, parent facilitation, and collaborative divorce. My expertise extends beyond divorce to also include working with adult families experiencing conflict, including disputes within family-owned businesses and disagreements between adult children that cause distress for aging parents. I practice a "party only" mediation model. While clients in legal disputes may retain attorneys, the mediation process involves only the clients. They have time to consult with their attorneys before reaching a settlement. My unique background allows me to guide couples through the complexities of divorce and assist adult families in resolving challenging dynamics with a focus on minimizing emotional damage, prioritizing well-being, and fostering more respectful and thoughtful communication. I help clients navigate difficult conversations, develop child-centered parenting plans (in divorce cases), and approach conflict resolution with their best selves.
I provide party only mediation services because I understand that dealing with conflict, divorce, and change is hard and filled with difficult emotions. I believe in helping clients bring the best of themselves to the mediation table and empowering clients to be active participants in making decisions about their lives – leading to better, longer lasting settlement agreements. A marriage and family therapist is uniquely trained to help people regulate their emotions during difficult processes and allows for an openness that vastly improves the negotiation process. Settlements are achieved in a cooler, calmer emotional environment. Mediation is a process that brings people in conflict together with a neutral third person who assists them in reaching a voluntary agreement. I help you prepare for mediation, clarify the issues, consider options, and reach a workable settlement that fits their needs. Mediation gives people a relatively quick, inexpensive way to work out their differences while addressing everyone’s needs and interests. Decisions reached in mediation are created by the parties involved, not by the mediator or a judge. I encourage direct communication between the parties and help people decide for themselves the best settlement. It allows for the expression of emotions, often defuses anger, explores creative means of solving problems, and promotes cooperation between people. My style is especially beneficial in situations where there will be an ongoing relationship because the process helps preserve the strengths of a relationship. It often helps people accept the consequences of their own decisions, be open to change, and develops a model for resolution of future conflicts.
Areas of Practice
- Adult Family
- Civil Union Dissolution
- Divorce (all issues)
- Divorce (parenting)
- Elder
- Family
- LGBTQ
- Marital Mediation
- Online Family/Divorce
- Online Mediation
- Prenuptial
Additional Services
- Collaborative Professional
- Communication Skills Trainer
- Conflict Coach
- Counselor
- Facilitator
- Parenting Coordinator
- Psychotherapist
Languages Spoken
- English
Liability Insurance
Yes