Advanced Membership

How to Become an Advanced Member

To become an MII Advanced Member you must firstly be a Member. You will then have to complete a number of live cases/hours and fulfil further training and requirements as outlined below. You should then submit your application for Advanced Member Status and, on successful completion of your assessment, complete your registration as an Advanced Member.

Applications for Advanced Mediator Accreditation to be submitted on a twice-yearly basis to the MII, following the nine-step process set out below. It is proposed that applicants submit their applications by end of February and end of September of each year. The Registrar will manage the application process. The MII’s Accreditation Policy Committee (APC) will appoint a panel of advanced assessors known as the MII Advanced Mediator Assessment Panel (MAMAP), which will be provided to the Registrar. A team of two Advanced Assessors from the panel will be assigned to each applicant and will assess that application throughout the process.

Applicants must complete the process within the relevant cycle i.e. Spring or Autumn

The Advanced Mediator Assessment process comprises 3 Stages:

STAGE 1: Provision and assessment of application documents

The following 6 documents are required with a completed Application form and payment of fee as the first stage of the application process:

1.Personal Statement:

A personal statement, not exceeding two pages, which outlines the applicant’s journey to mediation and provides the two-person assessment team with information about their practice experience and references their competencies.

2.Mediator’s Practice Log:

This should set out the details of at least 100 hours of live mediation practice setting out dates when cases were undertaken and the hours of mediation practice within the previous five years. Cases should represent an overview of cases mediated over a five-year period. (template provided). This log should be signed off by the mediator’s professional practice consultant/clinical practice supervisor or mentor (Template 1a).

3. Five Anonymised Mediation Cases:

A brief description of five anonymised mediation cases signed off either by a Professional Practice Consultant, Clinical Supervisor, Mentor or line manager (in the case of organisational mediators).

A copy of the applicant’s Agreement to Mediate in all their practice sectors. In the submission the applicant should submit at least one anonymised finalised Mediation Settlement Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). An Interim Agreement may be submitted for a case where relevant.

The Candidate’s portfolio of case summaries and settlements/agreements provides an opportunity to demonstrate an integration of mediation theories, concepts, principles and skills to the standard required of an Advanced Mediator.

Please note, applicants will be assessed on their mediation skills in a mediation setting and so should ensure that each case study reflects this. If a case study has to be returned to an applicant, s/he will be asked to resubmit.

*Should the applicant not have signed off case details, evidence of a minimum of three practice consultations with a Professional practice consultant signed off by their PCC/Supervisor is required (Template 1b).

4.Evidence of membership of a Reflective Practice & Learning Group (RP&LG):

(Note: see MII Guidelines for the operation of RP&LG)

1. Sign off by Chair of the RP&LG that the applicant has attended five meetings (online or in person) in the 12 months prior to application (Template 3).

1. Sign off by Chair of the date(s) the person presented a case(s) to the group for peer practice consultation; at least one a year (Note: Members may, in addition, present to the RP&LG on an article or book indicating ongoing development. (Template 3)

5.Continuous Professional Development

A CPD Log in line with that required by the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland as set out on the MII website. (MII CPD Log)

1. The CPD log will be relevant for the 12 months prior to application for Advanced Mediator accreditation being submitted.

1. Provide copies of any certificates from training attended, invoices/ payments for training or registration records.

1. For the purpose of the application process the log shall also contain a short note of the learning achieved as well as its application to practice.

1. Certificate evidencing attendance of an MII Code of Ethics training (required every 3 years) to be attached.

6.The Application Form

When the applicant has completed the preparatory work set out above, they must complete the Advanced Mediator Accreditation Application Form including the required attachments and submit them to the MII Office via soft copy to advancedassessments@themii.ie ensuring that:

1. The application satisfies the above five requirements

1. Indicate by completing ‘Y/N’ column and signature on the form that all necessary documentation is provided and all criteria have been met.

1. A fee of €250 applies to Stage 1 of the process, to be paid by EFT to MII including name, and reference: Advanced Mediator Assessment.

7.Receipt of applications by MII

The applications will go to the MII Registrar who will acknowledge receipt of the application and ensure that the applicant has submitted the relevant documentation. The Registrar will then pass the documents to two advanced assessors from the MAMAP panel appointed as a two-person team who will work with the applicant throughout the entire assessment process. If the two-person team’s assessment is that the applicant has passed Stage 1, then the applicant will continue to Stage 2.

If the application is not of sufficient standard to progress past Stage 1, the applicant will receive feedback from the two-person assessment team at an on-line meeting. The assessment team will outline the areas where there is a deficiency in the application and by so doing, assist the applicant to re-submit as appropriate.

The assessment team will notify the Registrar.

Note: A fee of €50 will apply to resubmission of applications.

STAGE 2: Video recorded Role-play and self-reflection form assessment form submitted

A fee of €150 will apply to the second stage of the process to be paid by EFT to MII including name, referenced: Advanced Assessment. Payment should only be made upon successful completion of Stage 1 and in advance of receipt of Role-Play scenario.

When Stage 1 of the application process has been completed in accordance with the criteria above the applicant will be provided with a Role-Play scenario by the two-person assessment team.

1. Instructions are provided in the Self-Assessment Form.

1. The applicant will conduct and record the Role-Play within four weeks of the date the scenario has been received.

1. The video recording will be of a joint mediation session with all parties present, the preliminary meetings already having been conducted.

1. The Role-Play is to be conducted in person and is to be of one hour duration.

1. The sound quality must be sufficient to enable their two-person assessment team to hear without any difficulty.

1. All participants (mediator and parties) must always be on camera.

1. Non-stop recording is required. To demonstrate skills in this session, the majority of time must be with all parties present. If the role-players fail to follow the instructions regarding their behaviour in role that was given prior to the role-play beginning, take a time out on camera to re-set rather than caucus.

1. The applicant will complete a Self-Assessment Form (Appendix 2) and submit both the Video recording and the Self-Assessment form to the Registrar at advancedassessments@themii.ie within four weeks of receipt of the role play script by the applicant. The Registrar will forward this to the mediator’s two-person assessment team.

1. The Video recorded role play and self-reflection is assessed by two-person assessment team.

1. If the video role play and self-assessment is not of sufficient standard to progress past Stage 2, the applicant will receive feedback from their two-person assessment team. The assessment team will outline the areas where skills have not been demonstrated or evidenced through self-reflection and thereby assist the applicant to re-submit at an early juncture.

The assessment panel will notify the Registrar.

Once the applicant’s video recorded role play and self-reflection has been passed as of sufficient standard by the two-person assessment team, the assessment team will notify the Registrar who will, in turn, notify the applicant who can then progress to Stage 3.

STAGE 3: An in-person professional conversation with the two-person assessment team

The two-person assessment team will set up a time and date with the applicant for an in-person professional conversation.

Format and Content of the Conversation:

Discussions will cover the mediator’s cases, role-play, manner of self-reflection, legal knowledge, ethical requirements and general involvement in the mediation field.

The focus of the conversation, (approximately one hour) is to enable the applicant to fully demonstrate their advanced range of competencies and experiences. It also provides them with an opportunity to enhance their application, identifying their journey to unconscious competence and mastery in their practice. Guidelines

Discussion of cases and video should demonstrate:

1. Advanced mediator competence

1. Professional judgement in applying the process in a flexible manner maintaining the integrity and transparency of the process

1. Full consultation with any co-mediator

1. Demonstrated knowledge of ethical guidelines, relevant cultural factors and relevant sectoral factors i.e. mediator reporting responsibilities (e.g. child/elder abuse or court referred restorative justice cases)

An advanced mediator is expected to demonstrate an ability to reflect on their practice and the theoretical framework on which their practice is based. In addition to naming process and skills used, the advanced mediator needs to clarify how the rationale for choosing particular strategies in practice, the settlements achieved, and their critical self-reflection, combine to demonstrate an advanced level of Mediation Practice (i.e. an ability to reflect in action as well as on action).

The conversation will take the following format:

1. The applicant will be asked to speak (10 minutes maximum) about one of their five submitted cases or their submitted videoed role-play and to answer questions on the competencies demonstrated, challenges faced, decisions taken and any relevant ethical dilemmas encountered.

1. In addition to speaking to their case/cases, the applicant has an opportunity to speak about their experience and learning from self-reflection through supervision, mentoring or contribution and learning from their reflective practice & learning group.

1. The applicant will be expected to demonstrate their knowledge of the legal and ethical requirements in mediation practice.

1. The applicant also has an opportunity to demonstrate a personal leadership role in their own Continuous Professional Development, outlining goals achieved and identifying possible specific areas for future training.

1. In addition to evidencing the applicant’s practice, the conversation provides an opportunity for them to describe any role/responsibility/contribution they hold within MII. It also provides them with an opportunity to detail any involvement in training, supervision, mentoring, presenting and any other areas aligned to mediation practice, which demonstrate their Advanced status and experience in the field.

The mediator might find it useful to refer back to the 5 Core Competency Areas of Advanced Mediator Assessment (Contributes to the development of Mediation as a profession), for section ‘e’ above, which sets out how some of these competencies might be demonstrated.

Summary of the process and marks awarded

Applicants for Advanced Mediator must achieve a mark of 60% in each of the identified qualification criteria to achieve accreditation (see below).

A fee of €150 will apply to the second stage of the process to be paid by EFT to MII including name and reference – Advanced Assessment. Payment should only be made upon successful completion of Stage 1 and in advance of receipt of Role-Play scenario.

*Each competency is scored separately, and the applicant must achieve a passing score in each competency – scoring less than a passing score in any section will result in a pre or post video assessment telephone call with the two-person assessment team.

Conclusion of the Advanced Mediator Accreditation Process.

After the conclusion of the in-person professional conversation, the two-person assessment team will pass or fail the applicant for Advanced Mediator accreditation. If successful, the two-person team will make its recommendation for Advanced Status to the Registrar, who will bring the names to the next MII Council meeting for ratification. The Registrar will inform the successful applicant of the ratification once it has taken place.

If the applicant does not pass the assessment he/she can either resubmit their application, addressing any feedback from the two-person assessment team, or appeal the decision.