"Making peace, one person at a time" is what we do. Families with older adults often face challenges such as "What Assisted Living or Nursing Home is best for mother?" and "My out-of-state sister thinks I'm doing a bad job caring for dad, and she's causing me so much grief. She thinks she can blitz into town and change everything." Questions about guardianship, living arrangements, caregiver inequities, end-of-life arrangements and more can be handled in a process called Elder Mediation.

Mediating since 1996, we also bring over 50 years of experience with our law, psychology and counseling backgrounds in our pracice. Understanding human dynammics on a deeper level gives us a special "edge" in dealing with the various personalities in families. Give Elder Mediation a try. Our Facilitative mediation style gives each party in conflict a voice and a respectful format in which to arrive at mutally agreeable solutions for your family and older adult.

We have authored two books on Elder Mediation with the second to be published in January, 2009. Northcoast Conflict Solutions also offers training in Basic Mediation, Advanced Elder Mediation and Divorce and Family Mediation.

NCS offers free consultations to family members and to facilities who work with older adults. Call (216) 236-6200 to schedule your consultation or receive information that will help with your personal situation.

Northcoast Conflict Solutions is conveniently located in Cuyahoga County, suburb of Cleveland on Broadview Road and accessible from I-77, I-480 and I-71. We serve all of Northeast Ohio.

Dr. John Bertschler is a mediator, licensed psychologist, certified in Critical Incident Stress Management and co-owner of Northcoast Conflict Solutions (NCS). He is co-author of "Elder Mediation: New Solution to Age-Old Problems" to be published in January, 2009. John also offers training for those wishing to become mediators, and his course is approved by the Ohio Supreme Court Dispute Resolution Section.

In his spare time, John is the creative writer for 12-month calendars and other materials, an avid golfer and occasional pilot.

Patti Bertschler is a trained mediatior, licensed professional clinical counselor, author, professional speaker and retreat facilitator.

Patti enjoys silk floral arranging, is a terrible golfer, and loves time spent with family and friends.