About / Thomas

Thomas Lenglacher

Mediator and lawyer in family law

I am a mediator and have been working as a lawyer with a focus on family law in Upper Austria for many years. In couples counseling I am not in the lawyer role, but a conversation partner with the knowledge of what is legally possible and what is not.

How I work

My contribution in the setting with Eva is the structural one. I listen and help sort things out when topics get layered, when responsibility, roles, support, housing or children come onto the table. I ask where things become concrete, because concrete conversations usually lead to concrete steps.

What matters to me: not to push solutions from outside. Couples often know more than they think themselves. My job is to hold a space in which that knowledge has room.

Mediation and family law

As a registered mediator with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice, I also work with couples for whom it is clear that they need concrete agreements. Mediation is then neither therapy nor court proceedings, but a structured way to work out an agreement that both can carry. The knowledge from family law helps because I can assess legal consequences, without the session tipping into a legal consultation.

If court proceedings end up being necessary, I do not take them on. The two roles, mediator and lawyer for one of the two sides, cannot be combined cleanly. That's clean toward me and toward you.

What interests me in sessions

I listen particularly closely at the points where couples tell different stories about the same event. That is where confusion arises, where reproaches arise, and that is usually where solutions lie hidden. I find it satisfying when we find a point together where both versions touch again.

I'm also drawn to the moment in which a conflict shifts from substance to relationship, when „Who picks up the kids?" suddenly becomes „You never take responsibility". The actual topic often hides in this shift.

My writing

On the blog I share occasionally what stands out in our work. Recent texts:

• Communication in relationships, what really helps when talking gets hard

Location

I work in Upper Austria, based near Wels. Sessions in Linz are possible on request, online works as well. We agree on the framework before the first session.