Mediator
Mediation is a tool to resolve conflict or disputes.
Mediation can be used at any stage of a disagreement or dispute but early intervention is preferable. The process is flexible and voluntary. The process aims to create a safe, confidential space for those involved (the ‘parties’) to find solutions that are acceptable to each side. Specifically, mediation provides the potential to:
Help parties involved in conflict hold open conversations that would normally be too difficult to have constructively.
Help parties to understand and empathise with each other’s emotions and situations.
Explore all parties issues and concerns and use creative problem solving to find a solution that each side feels is fair.
Encourage communication and establish lasting relationships.
Help participants develop the skills to resolve difficulties for themselves in the future.
A trained mediator’s role is to act as an impartial third party who facilitates a meeting between two or more people in dispute, to help them reach an agreement. Although the mediator oversees the process, any agreement comes from those in dispute.
