Client-Centered Mediation
Take Charge!
Mediation puts you in charge. Studies show that people who are active in resolving their dispute do better emotionally,
legally, and financially than those who try to delegate the work and responsibility to an attorney. This doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t get help from an attorney. It means being an active participant in resolv-
ing your dispute, becoming informed about your rights, and making your own decisions.
Each party may consult an attorney to gain independent legal information and advice if appropriate. But by choosing mediation, neither party retains an attorney to fight on his or her behalf. The rationale for this choice is simple: An inability to agree is almost never about matters of law. It’s about equity and emotions — feelings of anger, fear, pain, upset, and distrust. Though often unconscious, emotions are ever present in conflicts. They typically derive from a sense of loss. Anger, for example, may be about the loss of a dream, while fear may derive from a loss of security, respect, love, or stability.
The Mediator
The mediator’s job is to help you and the other party resolve the problem that you face — for example, how to divide assets in a marital dissolution or how to agree on coparenting responsibilities for your children — in a way that is fair and that addresses both parties’ interests. To this end, a skilled mediator succeeds by creating an environment that encourages an open and constructive exchange of feelings and ideas. The mediator guides the exchange towards a fair settlement by asking questions, identifying issues, exploring underlying interests, balancing power, and helping break through impasse.
Client-Centered Mediation
We provide client-centered mediation. That is, we believe that you — our clients — are the best people to decide what type of agreement you want to make, and even whether you want to agree at all. Client-centered mediation isn’t the only type of mediation. Other mediators may take an evaluative approach, acting more like judges or arbitrators to create a settlement that they believe is best for the parties. The trouble with this evaluative approach is that the mediator’s idea of what’s fair or appropriate may not be the same as your idea of what’s right for you.
The choice between a client-centered practitioner and an evaluative practitioner isn’t unique to mediation. Doctors, attorneys, financial planners, and other professionals may also be either client-centered or evaluative. Some people, for example, prefer a doctor who’ll decide what’s best, while others prefer to be an active participant in considering their treatment options.
