What is Mediation?

Mediation helps people talk things through with each other and find solutions. Mediation makes it possible for people to listen to each other and say what needs to be said calmly. Mediators don’t take sides, don’t tell you what to do, and don’t judge.

Mediation works in carefully planned steps. The first step is to meet with the mediators individually and tell them what’s happening. Disputants decide if they want to go on to the next step. Disputants are in control of what happens next. The job of a mediator is to help people to feel confident and safe and to guide them through the steps to solving the problem.

Usually, mediation is used to help two people to solve a problem between them and find a way of living and/or working together that works for both of them. Mediation can also help in problems involving more than two people or even groups of people. There are very strict rules in mediation about confidentiality.

The usual steps in mediation are:

• Mediators talk to one of the disputants and listen to their problem. They explain how mediation works and the steps that will follow.
• Mediators talk to the other disputant and listen to their problem. They explain how mediation works and the steps that will follow.
• If BOTH parties agree, the mediators will arrange a face-to-face meeting. This meeting is very carefully managed by the mediators so that both people can have their say but both can feel safe and protected. The face-to-face meeting is carefully guided by the mediators through stages that help people to reach an agreement. Both people are supported and encouraged to say what they want and need. The aim is to help everyone to feel happy and confident that the problem will improve or, better still, go away.
• If BOTH people are happy about it, any agreement reached may be written down and both can sign it.

There are other steps that can be taken if one or both parties is/are not confident about a face-to-face meeting. An example is shuttle mediation where the mediators go backwards and forwards between the two parties, who themselves never meet.

Mediation is a way of solving problems without having to use the law or formal processes which may create legal or disciplinary records against someone.