Wendy has been providing professional family dispute resolution services for over 35 years in Singapore and Hong Kong. She is the Director of Wendy Woodhead Family Dispute Resolution Services Limited. She has made great steps in sharing her experiences in helping divorced families through writing her second book “Children of Divorce – Hong Kong Story”, and in providing professional training in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She promotes the importance of professionalism. Wendy is devoted to helping parents work together for the well-being of their children. Her diverse working experience in Hong Kong and Singapore has helped local and international families resolve difficulties in their relationships during and after the break-up of their marriages. She employs different child-focused alternative dispute resolution services to help parents. Her core values are to ensure the best interests of children are met, but at the same time she understands the needs and vulnerabilities of the parents. Wendy works closely with parents and help them to redirect their energy to their children rather than in conflict: parenting is forever. She provides services in both English and Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua).
Wendy did her first degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science and had opportunities to learn from the very top academics in the areas of social policy and the needs of service recipients. She did her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Hong Kong. Wendy received intensive training in different therapeutic models in her work as a marriage counsellor. She provided counselling services from pre-marital to post divorce in her 10 years working for the Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council.. Wendy ran therapeutic groups for parents, couples and families. She gave extensive training and talks in Hong Kong and Macau on sex education, parenting, couple relationship and self-understanding. She was a constant guest speaker in RTHK for their programmes on marriage. Wendy edited the RTHK radio programmes into two CDs which were very well-received. In 1997 Wendy was invited to be a clinical supervisor for ReSource, the Counselling Centre. In 2001 Wendy co-authored a book on “Enhancing Parent-child Relationship” to parents regarding the psychological and emotional needs of children and parent-child relationships.
Whilst being trained intensively as a marriage counsellor, Wendy was asked in 1988 to be a counsellor in the pioneering pilot project to provide family mediation at the Legal Aid Department. Working closely with the counsels at the Department, she provided divorce counselling and family mediation. Following the pilot scheme Wendy received family mediation training from Canada and Australia. Wendy was also one of the first to be invited by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in 1998 to become a Family Mediation Supervisor. Since then Wendy has acted as coach, trainer and speaker for family mediation training in Hong Kong. She has been a family mediation supervisor for the Family Mediation Supervision Pilot Scheme of the Judiciary since 2014. Wendy was awarded as a Leading Family Law Mediator in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020 by Doyle’s Guide. In 2023 Wendy was invited as a speaker at the Mediate First Pledge Event 2023 “Mediate First – Let’s Do This Together” held by the Department of Justice, Hong Kong.
With the rising rate of divorce and the concern for the well-being of children of divorce, Wendy has been invited to provide talks and training on high conflict divorce, family mediation and parenting coordination. She recognizes that beyond divorce there is a strong need to provide professional help to high- conflict parents. To further support families going through divorce and struggling with children issues as co-parents, she focuses on working and promoting parenting coordination in Hong Kong. She has been appointed by the Hong Kong Family Court as a parenting-coordinator since 2010 and has written expert witness report for family dispute. She also runs and certifies parenting course for divorced parents in English and Chinese in promoting parental responsibility and the rights of children.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Master in Social Work (MSW), University of Hong Kong, 1986
- BSc (Hons) Social Science & Administration, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, 1982
- Registered Social Worker (Social Worker Registration Board, Hong Kong)
- Accredited Family Mediator & Family Mediation Supervisor (HKIAC)
- Certified FOCCUS & REFOCCUS Facilitator by FOCCUS, Inc., USA
- Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) & Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA)
- Certificate of “12 weeks Interactive High Conflict Intervention & Cooperative Coparenting Course” by Dr. Deena Stacer, San Diego, USA
- Certified Parenting Coordinator, Cooperative Parenting Institute, US
- High Conflict-Coparenting & Parallel Parenting Course Certificate, Family Life Education Center, San Diego, USA, July 2024
Wendy Woodhead 