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development tasks according to the following
elements:
 Cognitive Development and Language
 Moral Development
 Social and Emotional Development
 Physical/Sensory Motor Development

Our focus is not just on understanding the theory
associated with the age and stage of development.
Rather the focus will also be on the practice
implications, and strategies for application to family
law ADR. This includes observations about parent
feedback and potential referral pathways.

At the outset of this chapter we explore the formation
of defenses. Defenses are a part of normal coping
strategies that we all possess to manage stress.

Why do children and youth and adults need defense
mechanisms? As we mature we develop tools to
manage stress that would otherwise overwhelm our
sensory systems, information intake and emotions.
Defenses are like filters that assist us in self-protection
which is healthy and adaptive. When there is a need
to for higher and higher degrees of self-protection,
what begins as an adaptive defense can become
intrusive to day-to-day functioning and in some
instances, pathological or debilitating.