Articles for Mediators
Should Mediators Write Divorce Agreements?
By Bill Eddy | Which is more likely to cause harm to individuals or families: letting them choose a mediator who is not an attorney to write their parenting plans and divorce agreements, or insisting that divorce agreements must be written by lawyers whose job is to act as zealous advocates for their clients?
My Next-to-Final Thoughts on Business Cards
By Ada Hasloescher | I’ve learned a few things through years of networking and of watching people dispense business cards a hundred different ways. I’ve seen it done elegantly, and I’ve seen it done not so elegantly. In fact, one time…
Stuck in Neutral
By Chip Rose, J.D. | For our professional purposes, the term “neutral” is ambiguous at best and misleading at worst. The ambiguity flows out of the subjective nature of the term in the context of relationship negotiation in the same way that the term “fair” is completely subjective.
The First Standard of Practice: The Genius of Self-Determination, Or, It’s a Fine Line
By Steve Erickson | The answers and the solutions to the conflict are found, not by the mediator, but by the parties themselves who hire the mediator.
What Does Your Business Card Say About You?
By Ada Hasloescher | If you do not yet have a business card, get some right away and don’t worry about the look. You will probably change the card later anyway. To make the cards effective, include…
Oops! Does Confidentiality Survive When One of the Clients Dies?
By Bill Eddy | We have seen the limits of confidentiality tested in recent months in well-publicized cases involving a mediator or a therapist. Under what circumstances is it ethically acceptable…
In the Beginning
By Chip Rose | What are the critical elements that need to be put in place at the beginning of the mediation process in order to achieve the clients’ objectives at the end of the process? What comes before the first session — the initial consultation — is the real beginning…
The Mystery of Mediation
By Steve Abel | With self-determination as a core value in family mediation, it may be good if you sometimes let elements from mental health or law professions seep into mediation. Mediators listen, interpret, help clients see another’s point of view, sometimes suggest options for consideration, facilitate resolution, and more. An argument can be made for doing what your clients need, not being rigid about one ethical guideline or another.
Keeping Your Roles Clean
By Steve Erickson | One of the continuing problems I hear being raised by members of APFM around the country, and in Canada and Europe (Yes, indeed, they are confronting the same problems in Europe.) is that anyone can claim to be a mediator. Without any…
When Should a Mediator Withdraw?
By Bill Eddy | Not all mediations go well. The parties are intransigent, or one is obviously a bully, or one is too weak to speak up for herself/himself, or the issues are beyond the knowledge-base of the mediator –- a variety of issues may make a case inappropriate for mediation.
In the Belly of the Beast: An Insider’s Critique of the Adversarial System of Divorce
By Larry Gaughan | Certainly, the idea of state courts managing the breakup of marriages wasn’t created because somebody set out to design a humane, cost-effective system. Indeed, requiring divorces to be granted by the antique, inefficient courts that we inherited…
Not Another “How to Choose the Best Divorce Mediator” Article: It’s a Matter of Trust
By Michael Aurit, JD, MDR | Articles about “Choosing the Best Divorce Mediator” may soon be more numerous on the Internet than the actual number of divorce mediators that exist in the world. Go ahead, Google it and be amazed! Recently, I was asked to write one of these…
You may have interest in prior editions of APFM’s newsletter, The Professional Family Mediator.