Liz Merrill is a Fort Collins-based mediator, a Certified Divorce Coach, and the owner of Open Space Mediation. She received her 40-Hour and Family Law Certificates at Genesis Mediation in Oregon and her Advanced Mediation certificate with the Colorado Bar Association, of which she is a member. She is also a certified Divorce and Transitions Coach. Liz has a background in nonprofit management, with a Master’s Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Liz mediates for the Larimer County Small Claims Court, the Better Business Bureau, Court Mediation Services program in Denver, and privately with Open Space Mediation.
Liz is a mediator and divorce coach, and specializes in High Conflict and Narcissistic relationships. She lectures regularly on high conflict divorce strategies, and is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest. As a passionate advocate for community engagement and support, she engages in regular pro bono work for families who are experiencing financial hardship, as well as through various nonprofits and the Colorado Court system.
Her understanding of psychological and physiological reactions to trauma, conflict, and anxiety brings a holistic approach to her work with families caught in the High Conflict cycle. After her own litigious high-conflict divorce, she saw the need for a holistic approach to divorce mediation, which included non-violent communication skills, managing trauma, and an understanding of how personality traits and personality disorders create high conflict in a divorce.
When she started working as a mediator for the courts, she discovered how badly equipped many divorce professionals are at managing the specific needs of people in high conflict relationships and how it affects the children and family systems. Now she helps people in crisis find workable solutions so they can reduce anxiety, save money, and move on with their lives.
Experience
- Member of Colorado Bar Association, the Larimer County Bar Association, The Colorado Women’s Bar Association
- Member of the Mediation Association of Colorado, The Colorado Collaborative Divorce Professionals, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, National Association of Divorce Professionals, International Coaching Federation
- Mediator for Larimer County Small Claims Courts, Court Mediation Services in Denver, Oval Options, The Turelli Foundation, the Better Business Bureau, Pesch Law Office
- Boulder, Larimer, Denver, Jefferson, Weld, and Arapahoe Courts
Education
- Bachelor’s Degree: University of North Carolina
- Master’s Degree: San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Certification
- Basic and Family Law Mediation Certificates, Genesis Mediation
- Advanced and High Conflict Mediation Certificate, Colorado Bar Association
- Certified Divorce and Transition Coach, CDC Training Program