There are different types of mediation that disputants can seek if they want to stay away from a court battle. In mediation, a trained mediator usually uses principles of collaborative and mutual-gains negotiation to help the conflicting parties agree. These types of mediation are an efficient and comparatively affordable alternative.
People have this general conception that all mediation processes are the same, which in reality, are not. There exist different approaches that mediators follow depending on the kind of conflict they have to deal with. So, without further ado, get started. Before you choose a mediator, here are the types of mediation you should know about. So, without further ado, let’s delve deep into it.
Facilitative Mediation
Facilitative mediation is a traditional type of mediation. In this type of mediation, a mediator finds common ground between the two conflicting parties. Instead of recommending anything or forcing the parties to agree with a decision, the mediator encourages them to solve independently by exploring their interests. The mediators in facilitative mediation often keep their views on the conflict hidden from the parties.
Court-Mandated Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process where the conflicting parties try to agree with each other. However, mediation can be court-mandated to ensure a speedy and affordable settlement. When the disputants and their respective mediators try to avoid engaging themselves in mediation, the probability of them agreeing to a solution through court-mandated mediation is pretty low since going through the mediation procedure will be just a formality for them. When the disputing parties notice the benefits of mediation, the probability of settling conflicts tends to be higher.
Evaluative Mediation
Evaluative mediation is much different from the traditional type of method or facilitative mediation. In evaluative mediation, the mediators give suggestions, make recommendations, and express their opinions.
Rather than emphasizing the underlying interests of the disputants, mediators help parties evaluate the legal merits of the arguments. And they help come up with impartial deductions. The evaluative mediators are lawyers with sufficient knowledge and legal expertise in conflict areas. You would mostly see evaluative mediation happening in court-mandated mediation.
Transformative Mediation
At the most ambitious levels, transformative mediation aims to transform the parties. It aims at fixing the relationship between them by obtaining the skills they require to make a worthwhile change. In this type of mediation, the mediators emphasize empowering the conflicting parties. It helps them resolve their disputes and realize the needs and interests of each other. The Promise of Mediation by Joseph P. Folger and Robert A. Baruch Bush covers the elements of facilitative mediation present in transformative mediation.
Med-Arb
In a mediation-arbitration hybrid, the disputants first reach common ground on the terms of the procedure. Then they appoint a mediator to negotiate with the other party and resolve their disputes. However, this process is different from the other mediations. That is because the conflicting parties consent in writing that whatever the outcome of the mediation is, it will be binding on both parties. If the mediation has no outcome, i.e., no solution is attained.
The process is far from being over. When mediation doesn’t lead to a result, the disputants move on to the process of arbitration. Suppose a mediator has the qualifications and training of a mediator. In that case, they can take up the latter’s responsibility and pass a decision based on the judgments that will be binding on the sides in the dispute. If a mediator is not qualified to be an arbitrator, then a qualified arbitrator can consult with the mediator and take over the case from there onwards.
Arb-Med
Arbitration-mediation is one type of mediation. A neutral third party conducts a hearing over the evidence furnished by the conflicting parties. As the process goes, the third party writes its own decision before mediating the dispute between the parties.
If the parties fail to reach common ground, the third-party unseals and awards the binding decision. Misuse of confidential information is an issue in mediation-arbitration. It thus removes the issue from arbitration-mediation.
E-mediation is another type of mediation in which the mediator offers services to disputants who stay at a distance from each other or are going through a conflict so strong that they are not ready to be in the same room at the same time.