Family Law and Family Therapy: A New Zealand History of Convergent Development*

Open Family Mediation in the Court: A Systemic View

“…This controversy over confidentiality has adistinctly American tinge. Neither the New Zealand nor the Canadian way of thinking about resolving family conflicts includes this controversy even though their justice systems derive from the same English roots (Davidson, 1986;Cartwright, 1987). This is uniquely American, because we, more than any other society, dichotomize individual rights and the interests of the group (or society, or the family).…”

“…In this case however, in the long run, it isalso in the parent's interest to protect the child from the negative affects of his or her drug abuse or violence because those negative affects will rebound against him or her within the relationship with the child. If the parent is also putting the best interest of the child first, or is concerned about his or her long-term relationship with the child, then the long-run concerns of both the parent and the decision-maker are congruent (Davidson, 1986). The concept that statements might be "self-injurious"does not make sense when the best interests of the individual are joined to the best interests of the family.…”