Which Three Types Of Mediation Exist?

Mediation is a process that can help facilitate a conversation between you and your ex-partner.  A third party (a “mediator”) facilitates the mediation process. There will be no bias on the part of the mediator. What this means is that they are neutral. The goal of the mediator is to facilitate the discovery of a mutually agreeable resolution. The focus here is on finding a way forward in which everyone can agree to work together rather than deciding who was right or wrong in the past. At Family Law Mediation, we have more than 15 years of experience when it comes to helping families and couples with many different kinds of mediation for myriad reasons, including family mediation, children mediation and divorce mediation. Our blog today aims to explain the three different types of mediation and how you might benefit from them. 

Three Main Types Of Mediation 

There are three main types of mediation. They are known as transformative, facilitative, and evaluative mediation. 

Transformative Mediation 

The newest of these three ideas is transformative mediation. Transformational mediation is based on the idea that each party should be empowered as much as possible and that each party should recognise the needs, interests, values, and points of view of the other party. Transformational mediation has the potential for any or all parties or their relationships to change during the process. Transformational mediators meet with both sides at the same time since only the two sides can recognise each other.

Facilitative Mediation 

In the 1960s and 1970s, there was only one type of mediation called facilitative Mediation that was taught and used. In facilitative mediation, the mediator sets up a process to help the two sides find a solution that works for both of them. The mediator asks the parties questions, confirms and normalises their points of view, looks for interests that lie beneath their positions, and helps the parties find and evaluate possible solutions. The facilitator does not tell the parties what they should do, give their own advice or opinion about how the case will turn out, or guess what a court would do in the case. The mediator is in charge of the process, but the parties decide what will happen.

Evaluative Mediation 

The process of evaluative mediation is based on the settlement conferences that judges hold. An evaluative mediator helps the two sides come to an agreement by pointing out the flaws in their cases and guessing what a judge or jury is likely to do. An evaluative mediator might give the parties formal or informal suggestions about how to solve the problem. Evaluative mediators focus on the legal rights of the parties rather than their needs and interests, and they make decisions based on what the law says is fair. Most of the time, evaluative mediators meet with the parties and their lawyers separately. This is called “shuttle diplomacy.” They help the parties and their lawyers figure out what their legal position is and weigh the costs and benefits of going to court instead of settling in mediation. The evaluative mediator sets up the process and has a direct effect on how the mediation goes. This might be particularly useful when discussing a child arrangement order or consent order, for example. 

Conclusion 

These different types of mediation are not, of course, exclusive from one another. Even in the most purely facilitative mediation sessions, the mediator may be asked for an evaluation of some aspect of the dispute by the parties. In a similar vein, a mediator’s goal in facilitating dialogue typically involves drawing on elements of transformative mediation to help the parties better understand one another’s points of view, interests, and positions. Facilitative mediation is the bedrock of all mediation practices, and it is relied upon by all evaluative and transformative mediators.

 For more information and to discuss how mediation could help you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.