Six Messages

Monday 4 April 2011

Why mediate?

Anyone who has spent any time at all on the internet is aware that the internet provides two amazing benefits. The first of these is the ability to do a quick search for relevent information. The second, and more important benefit is that if you are patient enough, and willing to follow a number of links and leads, some of which pan out and some of which dead end, you come across nuggets of information that you probably never would have come across otherwise. I came across just such a nugget this morning, and would like to share it with you, at least in part. First, thanks to Erica Becks, of Diversified Mediation, who had posted the info on her blog. Second, thanks to Dr. Lynne C. Halem, of the Centre for Mediation and Dispute Resolution (CMDR) who originally authored the article.

Dr. Halem suggests the following four benefits of mediation, based on 28 years of tracking the response of clients to the question of why individuals choose to mediate:
  1. To avoid bitter conflict
  2. To save time and money
  3. To focus on their children
  4. To maintain their dignity
Dr. Halem goes on to suggest that in addition to achieving these goals, mediation can also be a mechanism for personal change and growth. Having experienced mediation as both a client and a mediator, I can attest to the accuracy of Dr. Halem's observation. In fact, I would go so far as to say that no client remains unchanged as a result of participation in a truly effective mediation process. More often than not, the parties begin to see each other in a different light, have the opportunity to remind themselves of what they have in common, and develop a new-found inderstanding and respect for their differences.

So there you have it - the process of mediation results in outcomes significantly different than the outcomes likley to be achieved legal and court processes. If you remain unconvinced as to the benefits of mediation, then perhaps the final argument in favor of mediation offered by Erica Becks may: "Agreements reached with the help of a skilled and experienced mediator are more likely to last."

This is because the agreements arising from mediation are developed, refined, negotiated and agreed to by the parties involved in the mediation process. Ownership of the process allows for ownership of the outcomes of the process, and results in commitment to those outcomes. As a result, both parties are committed to respecting the integrity of both the letter and the spirit of the agreement.

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