Using Email In Couples Counselling
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From Colin Rule's blog. |
Great new article from ADR pioneer David Hoffman on Mediate.com today. From the conclusion: "Because email is such a new medium {...}the techniques for successful communication via computer may be less intuitive and require more conscious attention...
Experience suggests that there is considerable potential in email communications for both misunderstanding and enhanced understanding. As Collaborative Practitioners, we have the added benefit of working on cases with colleagues who join forces with us in trying to achieve higher levels of understanding in all of our communications – in person as well as in cyberspace. By adding more effective email communication to our toolbox, we can achieve higher level of collaboration and thus better results for our clients."
I think this is a watershed moment, when leading "face-to-face" dispute resolution practitioners are writing articles that could have been written by ODR practitioners just a few years ago. Jim Melamed always said that one day in the future, if you squinted your eyes just a little bit, ODR and ADR would become indistinguishable. This article is an indication that the day may have arrived where that is becoming true.
Biography
Colin Rule is currently director of dispute resolution for ebay.com.
Previously, Colin co-founded Online Resolution, an online dispute resolution (ODR) provider, in 1999 and served as its CEO (2000) and President (2001). Before this, Colin was General Manager of Mediate.com, the largest online resource for the dispute resolution field. Colin also worked for several years with the National Institute for Dispute Resolution in Washington, D.C. and the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, MA.
Colin has presented and trained throughout Europe and North America for organizations including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Department of State, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Center for Public Resources. He has also lectured and taught at UMass-Amherst, Bentley College, MIT, Southern Methodist University, the University of Ottawa, Lasell College, and Brandeis University.
Colin is the author of Online Dispute Resolution for Business, due for publication by Jossey-Bass in the second half of 2002. He has contributed more than 30 articles to prestigious ADR publications such as Consensus, The Fourth R, ACR News, and Peace Review. He authors the online conflict resolution column in ACResolution Magazine and serves as editor of ODRNews.com, a daily news resource chronicling developments in the ODR field. He holds a Master's degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in conflict resolution and technology, a B.A. in Peace Studies from Haverford College, and has completed advanced coursework in dispute resolution at the University of Massachusetts- Boston.
The views expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Resourceful Internet Solutions, Inc., Mediate.com or of reviewing editors.
