"I have never worked with a process as flexible as Mediation. Disputes involve an unquantifiable number of different situations, different people with varying concerns and pressures. Being able to assess all those differences, all those variations before determining the structure of the process sets up the participants to succeed in a way that no other dispute resolution technique can deliver. Being able to deliver that felxibility, inspiration and imagination to the difficult process of finding solutions to the key areas in any dispute is the most important factor in making Mediation so successful in resolving disputes."
Mediation invites you to approach your dispute and the process to resolve it with an open mind. The mediation process is open and ready to be shaped to meet the needs of the participants and the peculiar details of their dispute. The Mediator remains impartial and open to the contribution of the participants. This openness of both process and participants is unique to Mediation. Everything and anything can be put on the table for consideration (within the ethical and legal parameters of the process ).
Flexibility is mediation's greatest strength. Removing barriers to resolution often requires inspiration and imagination. Parties to a dispute have arrived at entrenched positions, as is ususal in conflict. Litigation can encourage those positions to become further entrenched and deepen the conflict - making those involved more inflexible, more adversarial. Encouraging an open mind lets the parties take a step back from conflict and frees them from any predetermined position.
The MII approach to Mediation encourages structural and procedural flexibility. We do not encourage a set format for Mediation. MII Mediators are trained in various models and processes which are useful to different types of disputes but the key strength of Mediation is retaining flexibility to ensure that the process meets the needs of the individuals concerned. This flexibility can arise in many ways:
Our traditional methods of ending disputes often involve a winner and a loser, endorsing one party as 'right' while another as 'wrong'. This often misses the point and fails to provide a workable solution to their differences. Mediation is the only process during which the parties can look at all the circumstances of their dispute in a measured way and consider any possible solution that they can agree on. That solution could be incredibly simple and predictable or it could be complex and completely unexpected. Mediation sets no boundaries in the search for meaningful resolution of disputes.
The MII accredits mediation training courses which meet set training standards. The following training programmes have been recognised as MII approved training programmes.
The purpose of CPD is to ensure that Mediators keep their knowledge and skills up to date for the benefit of users of their service and for their own personal and professional development.
