How can a Mediator support you in a truly impartial way, to reach your own agreements, and avoid court
A helpful starting point is to remind ourselves of what impartiality looks like in practice.
Among other things
- not favouring one party’s story
- not favouring one person’s priorities and preferred outcomes
- not offering solutions
- supporting open, humble, empathic curiosity
- supporting self-regulation of strong emotions when ever needed.
As a mediator, if you notice yourself thinking “If only he/she/they did this or that …they would ‘ get there’ much more quickly”, that is an internal indication to slow down and consider your role and how you might be influencing the process. That feeling is normal. It is also a sign to pause rather than to act.
There is still quite a bit a mediator can do to support clients in an impartial, constructive way asking themselves questions like:
How far can I go with offering information which will help my clients think about and approach finding solutions for themselves, without ‘nudging’ them down, my way of thinking
What kind of questions can I ask them to stimulate creative possibility thinking in a way that protects the perception of my impartiality
What kind of resources and external mediation specialist support will help my clients with their thinking and approach and how can I facilitate this in a way that protects impartiality and confidentiality.
At Compass Resolution we offers a truly integrated approach with integrated joined up pathways to essential information and resources through the Divorce Manual and specialist supported from their Panel of Trusted Professional Partners, providing an supportive scaffolding around our clients to support and build their capacity for Mediation/Group problem solving, in a truly impartial way
Contact us to find out more.