About Mediation
What exactly is mediation and
when and why should you use it
to resolve conflicts or plan for the
future?
What is mediation?
Mediation is a process in which two or more parties meet with an impartial mediator to discuss issues, explore options, and settle on outcomes that take seriously the interests of all those involved.
When you invite a mediator to be involved in your situation, the mediator will consult with you and the other party (or parties):
• To determine the suitability of your case for mediation
• To help each of the parties explore their interests and concerns
• To test each party’s willingness to enter the mediation process.
If all parties agree to a mediation, a meeting time and place will be set. In the presence of a mediator, the parties will be invited to tell their stories, outline their concerns, and highlight their interests.
In the meeting the mediator will guide the conversation, making sure that:
• Each person gets a chance to speak
• Each person is heard
• The conversation is respectful and safe
Further, the mediator will help the parties explore options that can become the basis for an agreement.
Although the past is important, and issues from the past may have to be dealt with, the focus of mediation is to determine how the parties will live in the present and head into the future. An agreement may address questions such as:
• How will specific matters that are in dispute be settled?
• What will be the nature of the relationship from here on?
• What will the parties do if areas of disagreement & conflict surface in the future?
Why mediation?
Disagreements and conflict are a normal part of everyday life. However, if they remain unresolved they can cause increasing stress that will test and even strain otherwise healthy relationships.
The stress caused by unresolved conflict can also have a negative impact on a person’s health, other relationships, and life in general.
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Mediation provides a safe setting with professional help in which disagreements can be openly discussed and resolved.
You are personally involved and control the decisions that are made.
Mediation usually saves time and money over other options that may be available.
Agreements are reached in a voluntary, cooperative process where each person feels their interests have been achieved, are more satisfactory, and have a better chance of enduring over the long haul.
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Call Grasslands Mediation for a free, confidential, no-obligation conversation about your situation and whether our involvement as mediator/facilitator would be an appropriate way to deal with the matter.
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