PRACTICE Grandparent Visitation Disputes: Multigenerational Approaches to Family Mediation Edward Kruk This article examines the implications ofthe author^ research on grand- parent-grandchild access difficulties and contact loss for family media- tion. The rapid growth in recent years of the "grandparent rights" self-help movement in North America suggests that a significant pro- portion of grandparents is at risk of losing contact with grandchildren. Existing legal and therapeutic resources are perceived as inadequate for addressing this problem. Two distinct multigenerational approaches to family mediation are considered, and guidelines are suggested for the involvement of grandparents in the family mediation process. This anicle reports the results of an exploratory study of the phenomenon of grandparent-grandchild contact loss—the disengagement of grandparents from their grandchildren's lives—in both divorce and nondivorce situations and examines the implications of the findings for family mediation. The key find- ings of the study are outlined, with an exploration of factors and events con- tributing to initial visitation difficulties and eventual contact loss, the impact of these events on grandparents, and salient social and legal issues with respect to the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Mediation is seen as having con- siderable potential in the resolution of grandparent-grandchild access difficul- ties. The argument is developed that mediators need to examine their views regarding the salience of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, expand their definition of the family system to include the grandparent generation, and consider the significance of grandparents as important resources during family transition. Two approaches to practice are proposed in this regard: a Note: An earlier version of this anicle was presented at the 7th annual meeting of Family Mediation Canada, Banff, Alberta, Oct. 1993. MEDIATION QUARTERLY, vol. 12, no. 1. Fall 1994 O Jossey-Bass Publishers 3 7