I practice transformative mediation.  And I believe that would I do is essentially a different process from those who practice Facilitative mediation.  The latest blog contains a conversation that is typical of the ones I have with other mediators. You can read it here.

Minnesota is considering legislation that allows divorcing couples to come to their own agreements without judicial oversight.  You can read more about it here.

There have already been major transformative mediation conferences in Italy and Slovenia; and there's a large number of practitioners in the UK.  The Netherlands, too, has been a hub of transformative mediation activity.  And in June, it will host a major conference.  You can read about it here.

In legal circles, mediation is still understood to include opinions from the mediator on the strengths and weaknesses of the legal case.  It's too bad.  Here's a conversation about it.

If mediation is supposed to be about self-determination, where does evaluation fit in?  It doesn't.  Read the latest blog post about it here.

For mediators who see it as their job to get a deal done, it's unthinkable to mediate for friends, especially if the mediator is closer to one party than the other.  But mediators who commit to being supportive of both parties find it much easier to work with friends.  Hey, if you wouldn't treat your friends like mediation clients, maybe you aren't treating your clients right! Read the article…

Mediators are often torn between their desire to get the parties to a result and their intention to support party self-determination.  Those two directions are mutually incompatible.  This blog post explores 3 common mediation interventions that undermine party self-determination.  You can read the post here.

In this blog post, you can see the 6 actions that Bush and Folger say are needed to save mediation.  You can read the blog post here.

In the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation's latest blog post, 5 reasons are suggested for why it's so hard for mediators to live up to the ideal of party self-determination.  You can read it here.

In this blog entry, volunteer mediator, Pamela Gregg, describes how meaningful she has found the work.  You can read it here. 

When employers want to handle conflict in their organizations, in a way that resolves disputes and improves work environment, they choose transformative mediation. The State of Ohio is the most recent large organization to provide its employees with the option of using transformative mediation.  You can read more about the program here.

The latest blog entry at the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation tells a story of a mediation where the parties called all the shots.  You can read it here.

It turns out transformative mediation is the most effective approach when lawyers are involved.  It allows for the bad news about the other side's commitment to their perspective to be communicated directly and clearly; and it allows for the good news that the other side isn't pure evil to be communicated; and it allows for the highest quality conversation possible about both the heart of the dispute and the possibilities for improvement.  …

Professor Sherry Colb took a training in transformative mediation this spring.  Here you can read what she learned.

In our latest blog entry, available here, Janet Mueller describes her participation at an International Mediation Conference in Slovenia.

Our latest blog entry, which you can read here, observes how tempting it can be for a mediator to give advice to certain clients.  But should we?  

If you'd like to know more about transformative mediation, here's a free chance to learn from some of the leaders in the field.  Read about these free teleconferences here.

It's not easy to let go of telling people what to do.  In this blog post, Angie Gaspar, explains how she's been able to commit to supporting self-determination through the transformative approach.  You can read the blog here.

The perspective on conflict that the transformative model provides can come in handy when dealing with one's own clients. In this blog , Michelle Zaremba talks about using these insights in talking to her 5-year-old son.

Mediators have the best of intentions.  We want good things for our clients.  But "how do we get them too . . . ?" is not the right question.  Read the latest blog entry here.