Intergenerational mediation is about helping families navigate disputes between different generations, often related to inheritance, healthcare decisions, or changing family roles. It fosters understanding, preserves relationships, and ensures that all voices—especially those of older adults—are heard and respected.
Rosanna Macri knows this well. She is an accredited intergenerational mediator with a diverse background in both bioethics and conflict management. She has many years of experience helping families navigate complex conversations with empathy and clarity, and now she is sharing that expertise with students at Kompass.
We spoke with Rosanna recently to learn about her educational journey, the types of disputes she encounters, and her focus for the Intergenerational Mediation certificate program.
Here are the highlights of that conversation.
Q. Could you share a bit about your education and professional background?
Rosanna: I have a degree in radiation sciences from the University of Toronto and I practised as a radiation therapist for a number of years. Early in my career, I went back to school to complete a master’s in health science in bioethics. I went on to complete a fellowship in clinical and organizational ethics with the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto.
In bioethics, part of our job is clinical ethics consultation, and normally it’s value-based conflicts that we’re dealing with. Although I received some education in conducting clinical ethics consultation through the fellowship, but I didn’t feel like it was enough to ensure that I wasn’t causing more harm than good when dealing with patients and families and clinical teams. So I completed my certificate in conflict management and mediation at Conrad Grebel University College, which is associated with the University of Waterloo.
I then went on to specialize in intergenerational mediation through the Ontario Association for Family Mediation.
Q. Is this your first teaching role?
Rosanna: I’ve held an academic appointment as a lecturer with the University of Toronto for several years. I’ve had the opportunity to teach within the departments of radiation oncology and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Q. What are the most common types of intergenerational disputes you deal with? Can you give any examples?
Rosanna: Division of assets is always a big one. Finances, wills, estates, that type of thing seems to be a sticking point with families.
Healthcare is also common. When an older adult’s health status changes, they and their families may be dealing with complex living arrangements post-discharge or end-of-life decisions.
Loss of independence is another issue. When a driver’s licence is taken away, that’s huge for an older adult. It might not seem like a big deal in comparison to end-of-life decisions, but it really is. It’s much more than just a licence to many people. So that can cause a lot of conflict amongst family members and the older adults themselves.
Q. What does the Intergenerational Mediation certificate cover?
Rosanna: We focus on conflicts among multigenerational families in Ontario. The Insight approach to mediation is taught to unpack and work through the conflict.
In an intergenerational dispute, there can be so many players. One of the first things we do is map the family. In family mediation, it’s typically just the mom, the dad, and the children who are involved. But in intergenerational, it can be a very complex network. How do we work with them? Where do we start?
Using Insight, we’ll ask the listener, “What did you hear Mom say?” Many times, people hear what they want to hear. We all think we’re hearing the same thing, but we’re not hearing the same thing. People can be stuck in their own narratives, and it’s getting them to hear things differently and gain insight so that they can actually have a different dialogue and be put on a different path to come back together.
So it’s really about building relationships.
Q. Do you have any tips for people who are looking to start their own intergenerational mediation practice?
Rosanna: Get to know people. All the people I’ve met in the mediation world are very welcoming and eager to help others. Branch out and build relationships. Do things for free. I’ve done a lot of mediation education for free. Attend conferences. Deliver presentations at conferences. That’s where you meet people and they can actually get to know you.
Just say yes to everything you can say yes to. Because you never know what opportunities may arise from those relationships.
Intergenerational mediation is an emerging field, and it’s an exciting time to get involved.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERGENERATIONAL MEDIATION TRAINING FROM KOMPASS
The Intergenerational Mediation certificate is delivered online and takes just 12 weeks to complete. It’s accredited by the Ontario Association for Family Mediation and meets the educational requirement for the AccIM designation.
Click below for complete program details.
