Community Mediation

Well, Anamika asked me to write about the community mediation training I just recently completed. So here you go....

It is a training that is offered by several counties within different states that allows interested folks to acquire necessary and critical skills to mediate conflict. Community mediation is a process that gives people who are in conflict to manage it without involving state and federal agencies like the Department of Social Services (DSS) and more importantly, it helps them avoid the litigation process and the complexities that come with it. The biggest plus is that it is absolutely free of cost. So it saves people the lawyer fees that could easily go into the thousands and leave them financially high and dry.

It is a process that allows individuals to vent and discuss their issues, gives them an opportunity to objectively look at the situation and then identify solutions to better it. It makes people build ownership of their issues and acts as a forum to help them come up with strategies to minimize or alleviate the rift to which they hold themselves accountable. It is a non-judgemental process and mediators have to make every effort to keep the neutrality of it. Their role is to be the sounding boards, to lend a ear to the participants, manage their biases and prejudices while listening to them. The entire training focused on the art of reflective listening and effective questioning. We spent a good chunk of our time doing role plays with different scenarios that allowed us to practice this listening skill. It was very hard but worthwhile. I have always been a selective listener, something that I cannot afford to be while on the mediation table. Hence it was twice as hard for me to listen reflectively. I had to make a conscious effort towards it.

An actual mediation run anywhere between 2-3 hours. And there is no guarantee that the session will be fruitful or productive. Often, mediators meet with the parties more than once. They could end up having numerous sessions until the parties reach an agreement. The trainers informed us there they have been several occasions when participants have stopped coming or they didnt follow through on the agreement, thus bringing them back to square one.

It is a time commitment for all parties involved. It is voluntary for both mediators as well as the conflicting parties. The mediators don't get paid for doing this. These are people who want to make a difference in society and contribute to it by helping people resolve their conflict. It is their way of giving back to the community. And I guess I am one of them.

The total duration of the training is 52 hours and some. I dedicated the last few weekends to it. It is not over as yet. The next thing I need to do is observe two actual mediations, then mediate two real conflict situations and then go back for a final 5 hour weekend training. After which I will have to volunteer 72 hours mediating for this particular county through which I am attending the training.

Mediation, as one of the modes for conflict management has been around for a while now. many corporates use mediators to settle internal as well as external conflicts. Community mediation, however, is not as known to the public. People in the community are not quite aware of this FREE service and therefore many local organizations are trying their best to educate people about it. The center that I am associated with is heavily involved in several outreach programs and they are aggressively trying to build this awareness.

So far, it has been an interesting learning experience for me. This newly added skill and knowledge is a huge plus for me and what I do professionally and I hope it will open for me many more doors of opportunity.