WHY AN LPC + MEDIATOR
Counselor skills. Mediator structure. One neutral professional.
Most disputes that stall in mediation don't stall over the law. They stall over fear, anger, grief, and broken communication. Julie Witt is trained in both sides of that table. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed Mediator for family and general civil matters, specially trained in domestic violence issues.
What the LPC brings — and how it serves mediation
| What the LPC brings | How it serves mediation |
|---|---|
| Trauma-informed practice | Careful pacing, recognition of trauma responses, and avoiding re-traumatization inside the process. |
| Domestic violence and coercive-control awareness | Screening for power imbalance and designing safe formats before anyone sits down together. |
| De-escalation and emotion regulation | Keeping high-conflict sessions productive when positions harden. |
| Child development and attachment | Parenting plans grounded in children's developmental needs, not just schedules. |
| Motivational interviewing | Helping ambivalent or stuck parties move toward decisions. |
| Family-systems thinking | Seeing the patterns beneath the positions parties bring to the table. |
| Ethics of confidentiality, informed consent, and dual relationships | Disciplined attention to who knows what, and who agrees to what, throughout the process. |
| Recognizing when a party cannot participate safely or freely | The judgment to pause, adjust the format, or redirect to appropriate care. |
In mediation, Julie uses counselor skills, not counseling. She is a neutral for both parties.
What this looks like
Illustrative — not a real case
Stalled in forty minutes.
Two co-parents arrive hostile and the session stalls almost immediately. Julie recognizes a trauma response in one party, moves to shuttle format, slows the pace, and the parenting plan gets finished that afternoon.
Illustrative — not a real case
The quiet party.
One spouse agrees to everything and asks nothing. In private screening Julie identifies coercive control, redesigns the format so the parties never share a room, and makes sure the protected party has a support person and their own attorney's input before anything is signed.
Illustrative — not a real case
Not about the money.
A property dispute between siblings keeps circling a $4,000 difference. Julie's family-systems lens surfaces the real issue — who cared for their mother — and once that is named, the dollar figure settles in minutes.
What Rule 31 brings
Julie's Rule 31 listing means the process itself is disciplined: a structured, impartial sequence from opening session to a written memorandum of agreements, grounded in Tennessee family law and parenting-plan requirements, with confidentiality and court-reporting rules she follows in every mediation, court-ordered or private.
Where the two meet: domestic violence cases
Every case involving an order of protection or a history of abuse starts with private screening, and Julie's clinical training in trauma and coercive control informs whether and how mediation proceeds. Victims of domestic violence are never required to mediate.
How Julie handles DV casesCounselor skills, not counseling
In mediation, Julie is a neutral. She does not diagnose, treat, or provide therapy to the parties.
She does not give legal advice. Parties are encouraged to consult attorneys, including before signing anything.
She does not serve as a custody evaluator, expert witness, or advocate.
She never mediates for her own current or former counseling clients.
Partner practices' clinicians remain the clients' clinicians. Mediation records are kept separate from the practice's clinical records.