Mediation Office of Brandy Calvignac.
What is mediation?
Mediation involves an independent third party who acts as a facilitator, hears both sides of the problem and helps people achieve a satisfactory resolution about the issues at hand. The mediator's primary function is to provide a forum where disputants can construct their own mutual agreement. Mediators work direct and in-depth with the people who are involved in the conflict. No decision is imposed by mediators but mediators do help people make their own decisions about what solutions will work for them. Mediators do not advocate for either disputant. They do not represent one party against the other. Mediator is a neutral entity. Mediators may carry representations back and forth between disputants but they do not argue on "belhaf" of either the Complainant/Plaintiff or the Respondent. Mediators are not police: they may suggest comliance with the law but they do not enforce the law nor do they enforce agreements that disputants enter into between themselves. Since mediation comes from the latin word "mediare", meaning "to heal", it differs from the other methods of dispute resolution in that it seeks to accomplish a healing of the relationships involved in the disputes. Unlike arbitration and adjudication, the disputants in mediation retain complete control of the process.
Mediation is the use of a neutral third party to assist disputing parties in settling their problem. It is a voluntary settlement process .
The mediator is trained in specific ways of looking at disputes, uncovering what interests are driving the dispute, helping parties to understand each other's needs, and using communication techniques to de-escalate conflict.
The mediator helps the parties to communicate, assists them in generating options, and helps them analyze any proposed settlement to make sure the proposed solution is an informed and realistic one that will provide a along-term solution.
Current literature is available on how to choose your mediator. Many articles are written on the subject pointing to assist you in selecting a mediator. Our philosophy on choosing a mediator is based on compatibility. It is important that the parties involved in a dispute feel compatible with the mediator they decide to work with. The very same is true for a mediator. Parties need to feel comfortable with their mediator, his or her philosophy about the process and the mediation approach. It is important to choose a mediator whose communication style corresponds to your perception of what clear communication is. Someone, whom you can understand and someone who can communicate on your level. Simply, someone you can easily establish a rapport with and you feel can easily facilitate the nature of your mediation process. Not every mediator is the right one for every client, therefore, we suggest you meet with them first and evaluate firsthand whether or not you seem to be the "perfect match". To that end, we at Positive Solutions, offer a half hour free consultation. Please feel free to