Elder Mediation - Changing the Face of Senior Healthcare

In this article, world expert, Judy McCann-Beranger, explores the developing area of Elder Mediation.

Introduction
What is Elder Mediation?
Preventative Aspect of Elder Mediation
Characteristics of Elder Mediation
Working as an Elder Mediator

Introduction

Mediation with age-related issues has been emerging for several decades as a distinct specialty in the field of mediation. Elder Mediation is now recognized internationally as an important step in the continuum of care, prevention, and quality of life for older adults. As people become familiar with the respectful and inclusive way decisions can be made by those who are related to the issue(s), and also become familiar with the preventative focus of Elder Mediation, it is expected that it will change the face of senior health care as we know it. Countries including Ireland, Canada and the United States have a growing roster of Elder Mediators who are committed to continuously honing their mediator competencies. Compared to other European countries Ireland may be in fact best positioned to develop and model their Elder Mediation services as it has the lowest proportion of its population aged 65 & over - 11% (467,900 persons) versus the EU average of 17%. Experts predict that these numbers will rise dramatically for all EU countries by 2026. The need for trained Elder Mediators should grow exponentially over the next few decades.

What is Elder Mediation?

In mediation involving age related issues, a trained Elder Mediator facilitates a process that assists people in reaching mutually acceptable agreements that, to the greatest extent possible, supports everyone's best interests. Typically it involves many players, and who those players are will depend on what the issues are to be mediated. Guardianship, for example would often include lawyers, any court appointed people and all others impacted by the outcome. As awareness grows about Elder Mediation many issues can be dealt with more effectively through this process before there is need for court involvement. All who need to be are invited to the table. Predominantly these are family members, formal and other caregivers, care home representatives, friends and any others who are able to offer support or input. The focus is on addressing concerns and issues while keeping the myriad of existing relationships growing and respectful. Where care is an issue, for example, a successfully mediated outcome will ensure that maximum function and independence are promoted, while opportunities are provided for healthy interactions among all participants. Some of the more common issues for Elder Mediation include decisions around caregiver burden, an array of health care issues, financial issues, neighbor disputes, estate issues, living arrangements, landlord and tenant issues, environmental issues, decisions around therapeutic interventions, new marriages, new partners, stepfamily issues, grand parenting and intergenerational issues, primary caregivers, paid caregivers, family disputes, nursing home decisions, medical decisions, retirement, issues around religion, rehabilitation plans, driving, activity-focused care, end-of-life decisions, to name a few! The success of Elder Mediation is not unlike other forms of mediation in that people are more likely to invest in their own agreements.

Preventative Aspect of Elder Mediation

Elder Mediation has a preventative component that sometimes goes unrecognized. This is based on a wellness model that promotes a person-centered approach for all participants - tapping the collective creativity while exploring the many ways that will best work to enhance continued quality of life for all concerned. Often family members who come to the table with poor communication skills are surprised at how, with the help of a mediator, they actually learn new ways of talking with each other. All participants in the mediation identify topics they wish to discuss or issues they wish to resolve and work towards reaching agreements that attempt to promote well-being and quality of life. Elder Mediation promotes communication and the involvement of more family members and others who wish to help. It is becoming more common for facilities supporting older people including hospitals, nursing homes, or community care homes to promote, initiate and participate in the process as they recognize issues can be discussed and resolved before they become a more serious.

Characteristics of Elder Mediation

Creative ways of addressing issues head on are generated as people come together and talk about what needs to happen to accomplish desired outcomes. In the context of Elder Mediation there are many unique characteristics or emphases that require the Elder Mediator's attention. Examples include:

Supporting independence and self-determination, assuming capacity, and making sure all who need to be are at the table;
Screening for dementias, abuse, mental health issues, addictions, etc;
Being intuitive and understanding of the complexity and number of issues that can arise;
Focusing on the strengths while recognizing any losses;
Using mediation models that will encourage participation;
Recognizing that knowledge of issues of aging by the mediator is a prerequisite for Elder Mediation;
Creating a safe, trusting and balanced environment in which deficits and cognitive impairment are normalized and compensated for in a specially designed structure;
Recognizing the difference between Elder Mediation, counselling, social work, case management, & law;
Referring to appropriate members of the resource team.

Working as an Elder Mediator

Elder Mediators experience firsthand how their commitment to competency ensures ongoing self-reflection and a commitment to sensitive, inclusive language, impartiality, and finely tuned people skills aimed at making the mediation flow respectfully. Elder Mediation is designed to create a better way to provide for cooperative and or difficult conversations relating to issues of aging. Being supportive, impartial, protecting and affirming all participants' right to self-determination is among the many responsibilities we watch for in the process (Elder Mediator's Code of Conduct, Elder Mediation Canada, 2009).

There is a strong network of mediators interested in sharing their ideas, experiences, and knowledge and working toward a consistent certification process. An immediate outcome of the inaugural World Summit on Elder Mediation in 2008 was the establishment of a three year pilot certification project. A consistent message from both the Ottawa World Summit in 2008 and the Dublin World Summit in 2009 is that Elder Mediation should be an integral component of all "healthy aging" strategies. Elder Mediator's were challenged to continue the certification work to assure consistency and credibility of professional mediators with knowledge of issues of aging. They were also challenged to initiate a public education campaign to educate all people of the value and support of Elder Mediation and to identify champion organizations throughout countries. We are hoping to see lots of Irish mediators at the Third World Summit & Symposium on Elder Mediation in Chicago, USA this May 10-12, 2010. For more information go to:

http://www.eldermediation.ca/page14/page14.html

Judy McCann-Beranger. Judy McCann-Beranger B.A., B.Ed., M.A., CCFE, CertFM, CertEM: Mediator, counsellor, author, educator and Chairperson of the first World Summit & Symposium on Mediation and Issues of Aging. Judy is a nationally certified, comprehensive Mediator and has been instrumental in bringing the field of Eldercare Mediation to the international agenda. Judy is a past-President of both Family Mediation Canada and Family Service Canada and has been recognised by both organisations with national awards.

Judy McCann-Beranger will be delivering a 3-day training programme on Elder Mediation in Dublin from 22-24 March 2010. For details see Elder Mediation Training.

Training Programme Booking Form

February 2010