The Transformative Approach to Mediation, Conflict Resolution Training and Education
In 1994, the publication of the book The Promise of Mediation, by Robert A. Baruch Bush and Joseph P. Folger, served as a catalyst for new ways to think about the practice of mediation, which included the understanding that there are different models of mediation and approaches to conflict resolution.
In 2002, the Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) adopted the transformative model for mediation, training, and education. In this model, conflict is described as a crisis in human interaction and is based on a relational worldview, meaning we exist in relation to others. Two beliefs that inform the Center’s work are;
- People want to and are able to be autonomous while at the same time in connection to others.
- Conflict weakens our desire and ability to do so.
And so it is that CDRC’s services offer people in conflict opportunities for getting clearer and more decisive and becoming more open and responsive to the other’s perspective. In other words, people can shift to a greater level of understanding both of themselves and of others.
As a result of these shifts and new insights, people will often make decisions that include settlement. In addition to settlements and agreements, people make decisions that result in many other positive outcomes. It is a transformative mediator’s goal to help them make those decisions based on their conversation and what is important to them. In other words; this is your process to shape and use as you see fit.
For more information about the transformative model visit the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation.