|
« Mediate.com Publishes New Article by Thurman W. Arnold III |
Main
| Child Psychologist JANE ELLEN SHATZ, Ph.D Joins the DFMS Team! »
|
 |
|
The DFMS Team Attends Five Day Intensive Workshop
|
The entire five member DFMS team of mediators and co-mediators returned Monday, October 12, from a week of intensive mediation training in northern California through The Center of Understanding in Conflict & The Center for Mediation in Law.
Gary J. Friedman and Catherine Conner facilitated what seemed at times like countless exercises over the course of this workshop of lectures, participant interactions, and role plays and practicums. There was an exceptionally dedicated group of professionals in attendance, including one man who traveled all the way from Germany (cheers, Markus!), from the fields of law, psychology, marriage and family therapy, accounting, human resources, and post-doctoral training.
We believe that in order to serve our clients as integrated professional mediators it is essential that we train together, and that we train often. Effective mediation skills cannot be picked up casually, or acquired merely through life or professional experiences. Instead, it is essential that a practice be maintained in order to develop expertise and artfulness. We are greatful to have had the opportunty to study with Gary, who has a well deserved international reputation.
What distinguishes the Understanding-Based Model of Mediation from more traditional forms is the idea of empowerment for the participants. Some forms of mediation are highly directed by the mediator themselves, in the sense that they suggest or tell clients what the outcomes ought to be. The Understanding-Based Model holds that the deciders of people's choices might more appropriately be the people themselves, rather than strangers who presume to know what the best outcome for any couple is. Having a stranger determine what your resolution should be is not far removed from what happens in Court processes, even if such mediations are a kinder and more gentle experience than have a judge determine your future.
But saying that people should decide their own outcomes is only the point of beginning because many things interfere in practical terms with how that might come about. Most people locked in conflict - surprise! - lack the clarity to see beyond it. This is why the job of the peacemaking mediator is to facilitate recognitions that may lie beneath the surface and so otherwise may be missed, as well as to help clients to generate options that are more deeply relevant to their own lives than what any outsider could express.
We believe this model of mediation is particularly well suited to family disputes, and will tell you more about why we believe this as our Blog evolves.
T.W. Arnold
|
|
|
|
|
Posted By Desert Family Mediation Services on
October 12, 2010 04:22 am |
Permalink
|
|