The Top Five Things You Should Know About Mediation

1. It is a civil and respectful method meant to resolve conflicts whether between two people or many people no matter what the type of conflict.
   1. Conflict is and will always be part of human nature. Many parties can and do resolve daily conflicts between themselves. Common examples where mediators often offer assistance:
      1. employer conflicts with employees,
      2. business partnership or shareholders disputes;
      3. marital disputes – parenting of children, property disputes, child or spousal support or anything else arising from a separation or divorce
      4. estate disputes  and how to avoid them – help people make a will or resolve estate conflicts among beneficiaries
      5. construction disputes – contractors, owners, and anyone connected with a construction.
2. The mediator’s role is to find a way to solve the problems which those in conflict face. A skilled mediator has many tools with which to do that as there are many forms of mediation.
   1. Mediators can offer the following forms of mediation: facilitative or interest based which tries to achieve a win-win resolution; evaluative that is focussing on the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s positions; transformative – to enable parties to define their own issues and resolve their own conflicts; narrative – to help people rewrite the stories which they are currently living.
3. The parties to the mediation are in control of the outcome as, with the assistance of the mediator, they ultimately decide how to solve their problems. As they are in control of the outcome, they can fashion a solution to suit their respective goals.
4. The mediator can help the parties understand the reasons for the conflict and with that understanding, the parties can deal with future conflicts in a more constructive manner.
5. If the parties reach an agreement in mediation, that agreement is not legally binding upon them until the terms agreed upon in mediation are incorporated into a proper legal contract with the assistance of lawyers is necessary.

– Tom Dart, Mediator & Arbitrator