NCJ Number
109727
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Issue: 18 Dated: (Winter 1987) Pages: 85-90
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the mediating styles of attorney/labor mediators or activists and of therapist mediators or passivists.
Abstract
A mediator's mediating style depends on a number of factors that include personality, professional training, and mediation training. The style of the attorney/labor mediator is based in the concept that mediation involves negotiating an agreement between the parties that resolves the dispute and produces a fair settlement. In the case of a divorcing couple, the emphasis is upon a fair settlement that is in the best interests of the children. This mediation style tends to be active in the sense of following a structured procedure that will produce an acceptable agreement. Therapist mediators view mediation less as the settlement of a dispute informed by legal parameters and more as a personal problem based in relational dysfunction to be resolved through mediation. Under such a conceptualization of mediation, the mediator tends to have a passive style whereby the mediator acts as a facilitator who intervenes only when the couple is having difficulty making progress in resolving the problem. The intent of the mediation process is for the parties to address the conflicts standing between them and a mutually satisfying resolution of the problems associated with the divorce.