Mediation is what? Mediation procedure

There are many technologies with which alternative conflict resolution occurs. One of them is mediation. This is a way of resolving disputes, in which a third party appears, a mediator who should not be interested in winning either side. This is a well-known practice that shows its effectiveness over a long period of time.

Functions of the mediator

Mediator is a person whose duties include assisting the parties to the conflict in resolving it. At the same time, the disputants themselves control this process and the final decision still remains for them. Mediation is a process aimed at helping the parties to properly behave.

The mediator must remain neutral in any difficult situation and not succumb to feelings of personal sympathy or antipathy. Often it happens that before an independent party ceases to be such. In this case, the effectiveness of this process is seriously reduced.

Principles of mediation

This process has a number of initial assumptions, to which the mediator normally relies. So, the mediator must adhere to such principles:

• Voluntariness. All parties, including the mediator, should wish to resolve the conflict in this way. Mediation is an exclusively voluntary process, as it is aimed at reconciliation, not oppression of the two sides.
• Confidentiality. The mediator should not disclose the content of the conflict, as well as his decision, provided that both sides have not given their consent to this. The mediator can tell specific cases, but without mentioning the names, surnames and other data that can directly or indirectly indicate the conflicting persons.
• Mutual respect. Only on this basis can a compromise be achieved.
• Equality of the parties. Relations between the conflicting must be built exclusively business, implying an ideal equality.
• Neutrality.
• Transparency of the procedure. Despite confidentiality, mediation is a procedure that should not have pitfalls.

Types of mediation

In general, mediation is a complex process, therefore, in each specific situation, a separate version of it should be used. What are they? There are such forms of mediation:

1. Problem-oriented mediation focuses on the interests of both parties, not on the approaches themselves, which are the cause of the conflict.
2. Transformative, the meaning of which is to concentrate attention on the communication of the two sides, so that they learn to listen and hear each other.
3. Narrative mediation, in which it is a process, when each side expresses its own opinion about the action taking place.
4. Ecosystem - assistance to families in conflict resolution.

There are also a number of other types of process that are derived from this type. The mediation procedure can contain the components of all these varieties, so this division is only conditional. In real practice, the mediator himself determines the style that is most effective in this situation.

Advantages of Mediation

The mediation procedure has a huge number of advantages before the trial. And it will be correct to list them.

• Saves time, effort and money. The trial can be delayed for several weeks, months and even years. The result of mediation is very likely to be felt right now.
• Mediation better takes into account the individuality of the situation, while the court conducts its procedure solely by templates.
• It is not aimed at establishing the rightness of one of the parties, but on finding solutions to the current situation.
• The mediation process takes into account the needs of the participants and their emotional state at the moment, as well as in dynamics.

Hence, mediation is aimed at taking into account the experience of the parties, and not similar conflicts, as it happens with the trial. This is the biggest plus.

Areas of application of mediation

Conflicts are characteristic of any human relationship. Therefore, mediation can be applied in all spheres of activity. So, it is actively used in the resolution of commercial disputes, in which the court sometimes can not even intervene. For example, at work, minor conflicts have occurred that do not violate the law. In such a situation, only a professional mediator can resolve it.

Mediation in the sphere of social work and psychology is actively used. For example, the classic resolution of a family conflict is a pronounced case of mediation. Often families quarrel. This is normal. As a quarrel - and reconciled, and the thought of divorce does not even visit the head. But some conflicts are so serious that they make the family dysfunctional. And here it is almost impossible to solve the problem without mediation. Therefore, social work with the family has a largely intermediary function, like the entire sphere as a whole.

Mediation Service

There is a huge number of private and public services that provide mediation services between the conflicting parties. Social services can be classified as departmental institutions, and organizations specializing in mediation can be classified as private. Nevertheless, representatives of other professions that are not connected with jurisprudence or social work can act as mediators.

So, it was already said earlier that the psychologist who regulates family relations focuses on certain types of mediation. Another interesting aspect is school mediation, which appeared relatively recently and has already shown its effectiveness in resolving school conflicts. It should be discussed in more detail.

Mediation in the school

Very often a school psychologist or social educator, whose responsibilities include mediation between conflicting children, do not. In times of crisis, which swept the whole country, it is difficult to find money for hiring a professional, so such a function can and should be taken on by the teacher or class teacher.

Some mediation process is perceived as an attempt by force to calm the fighting teenagers with the subsequent call of parents to the director or class teacher. But it is an attempt to resolve the conflict, rather than freeze it. In the first case, parents will come and, probably, punish their children. But the conflict will still remain and at the same time it can break out again. The teacher should teach children the correct search for compromises, and not eliminate only the symptoms of the problem in a social group called the school class. There may also be a school mediation service that deals with problematic issues. True, it happens in educational institutions very rarely.

What conflicts are mediation solved in secondary schools?

Some believe that it is mainly aimed at eliminating conflicts between different students. But teachers are also people, and therefore they can quarrel with children. And the mediator in the school should eliminate any possible conflicts, even if the child quarreled with a cleaner who has nothing to do with him. And to argue that some conflicts are more serious, while others are trivial, in no case is it worth it. If both sides take them painfully, then they should not be underestimated.

Age should not be taken into account. There are victims, and therefore it is necessary to take into account the interests of both parties, regardless of social status. In general, the discrimination of young people and children never ended well. Very often, in attempts to prove their worth, they go on to commit cruel acts or simply become "difficult teenagers". Communicate with children is important to build solely on the positions of mutual respect, as with any adult people.

conclusions

Mediation in school or any other sphere of human life will continue to exist for a very long time. After all, in a situation of acute conflict, not one of the quarrels can understand the whole situation. And a sober view from the outside can render in this case the big service.