High Conflict Mediation and Ethics (1/30/12)
Ann Begler
Working with high conflict people requires skill that goes well beyond facilitating a conversation. Some mediators do it well and some should never try. If a mediator sees it as his or her responsibility to make a fair assessment about competency in this regard, everyone is well served – clients, mediator and the system, itself.

Effective Use of Civil and Commercial Mediation in Poland: Part 1 (12/27/11)
Sylwester Pieckowski
This article is part one in a two-part series about effectively using mediation in civil and commercial disputes in Poland. This discusses the present laws and norms in mediation and what are the plans for the future.

Mediation in Ireland: Current Trends, Future Opportunities: Part 1 (12/19/11)
Caitriona Heffernan
In this two part series, Caitriona discusses mediation in a variety of settings in Ireland. In this section she examines the judicial system, collective disputes, conciliation, construction, and health care disputes.

Mediator Excellence and Self-Awareness (12/12/11)
Louise Phipps Senft
Louise Phipps Senft discusses mediator self-awareness. She looks in-depth at how it aids the mediation process, and MACRO's process to use self-awareness to assist mediators become excellent.

Hybrid Proceedings (12/05/11)
Joe Markowitz
One of the touted benefits of ADR is that it allows parties to design their own dispute resolution process specially suited to their needs.

AudioBlog: Transforming Conflict Through Forgiveness (12/05/11)
Patricia Porter
Forgiveness is a powerful tool for clients who are up against difficult, and seemingly insurmountable, conflicts. It creates a pathway from conflict to a deeper place of understanding and compassion.

Thinking for Ourselves: Better Decision-Making at the Dispute Resolution Table (11/28/11)
Diane J. Levin
How good are the decisions you make? Are they free from error? From unconscious bias? Are they consistently the product of careful reasoning?

Powered by Paradox (11/14/11)
Michael Jacobs
Power is an issue no mediator can afford to ignore. This includes the power we have as practitioners. This article argues that much of the power we have as mediators comes from our capacity to embrace a fundamental paradox that lies at the heart of our practice.   1 Comment

Book Review: The Grownup ABCs of Conflict Resolution (11/14/11)
Monique McKay
Monique McKay describes the book by Victoria Pynchon, A is for Assholes, the Grownup ABCs of Conflict Resolution.   3 Comments

Oprah's New Show "Confronting" Premieres (9/16/11)
Phyllis Lawrence
Oprah Winfrey was always impressed with the crime victims and perpetrators meeting and moving through the pain via dialogue. Now on the Oprah Winfrey Network, she's running a new series, "Confronting . . . " which documents the facilitated peace and reconciliation process.

Bound by Conflict, Separated by Restraint (9/12/11)
David Bogan
Here in one sentence is the conundrum we often face as to which process works better, the ‘own it, name it, clear it,’ process suggested by Psychotherapists, or this model, suffer in silence and restraint?   1 Comment

Holistic Communication: How to Include the Heart and Soul in Mediation (8/24/11)
Michelle Brenner
One of the functions of being a person as well as a professional is to survive, to be able to pay bills, keep updating knowledge and satisfy the human needs that include feeding and housing self and family. The second function which is not a runner up, but actually considered as critical for defining a human being is the need for transcendence.   1 Comment

A Flood of Workplace Conflict: Don’t Panic – Get SMART-ER (4/03/11)
John Crawley
CMP Resolutions is committed to making SMART-ER the default approach to dispute resolution at work. It works best when organisations commit their strategy, staff, unions and managers, but can also have an impact in individual cases and interactions.

Do you REALLY Want Me to be Evaluative? (3/27/11)
Victoria Pynchon
A mistake that lawyers sometimes make is failing to ask for what they want. If they do want an evaluation they can ask for it when they hire the neutral. There are processes variously known as neutral evaluation, non-binding arbitration, or early case assessment which are designed specifically for this purpose. They can be used independently or they can be combined with mediation.

Evaluative Mediation (3/21/11)
Diane Cohen
Evaluative mediation is generally understood to be a process which may include an assessment by the mediator of the strengths and weaknesses of the parties’ cases and a prediction of the likely outcome of the case

Transformative Mediation for Divorce: Rising Above the Law and the Settlement (3/07/11)
Dan Simon
Abstaining from providing legal advice and resisting the urge to problem-solve, transformative mediators offer divorcing couples an essential service: providing authentic support for any discussion they choose to have, helping them arrive at greater clarity, and improving their sense of connection with each other. While these conversations often lead to a comprehensive divorce settlement, their primary value extends far beyond the terms of the agreement.   4 Comments

What Does “Empowerment” Look Like And How Can Mediators Facilitate It? (1/10/11)
Donal O’Reardon
The literature on mediation and conflict resolution often talks about “empowerment.” It is strange then that there does not seem to be any agreed understanding of what “empowerment” exactly is. Indeed the literature on dispute resolution is often mute when it comes to articulating any conception of empowerment.   6 Comments

Howard Gadlin: Ombudsman vs. Mediator - Video (10/25/10)
Howard Gadlin
Howard Gadlin discusses the difference between a mediator's role and an ombudsman's role. Ombudsman uses mediation as a tool, but their role is to assist a group of people within an organization to identify the organization's policies and regulations that are causing internal conflict, then make recommendations.

Holding Up The Mirror: The Role of Emotion In Achieving Success In Mediation (10/18/10)
Katherine Stoessel
This article looks at what constitutes successful resolution. I believe success is often defined too narrowly resulting in missed opportunities for a thorough exploration of interpersonal issues, the potential for repair, and the expansion of options. Broadening the definition of success also has implications for how we train and develop new mediators.

Stulberg, Joe: Concern: Quality of Trainings - Video (9/28/10)
Joseph Stulberg
Stulberg shares his concern about trainings that are given in too short of time or which are either over-lecturing or doing too much role-play

Singer, Linda: Dissatisfaction with Litigation - Video (9/07/10)
Linda Singer
Linda Singer describes how she became interested in mediation: her observance of the court and litigation system led to her dissatisfaction with how problems were being solved.

Carl Schneider: Training Mediators to Take Risks - Video (8/26/10)
Carl Schneider
Carl Schneider talks about how he trains mediators to have "no resistance" and how that requires risk-taking.

Larry Fong: Styles and Approach Controversy - Video (8/20/10)
Larry Fong
Larry Fong discusses the lack of research on the effectiveness of certain styles, but emphasizes that most mediators use a hybrid, eclectic approach that may combine styles.

Chip Rose: Mediation as Performance Art - Video (8/07/10)
Chip Rose
Chip Rose describes the art of mediation and how mediators can use different styles to increase their effectiveness.

Michael Lang: Practitioners Not Thinking Critically - Video (7/03/10)
Michael Lang
Michael Lang talks about how many mediators lack awareness about their own process and this troubles him.