Family Law Mediation Training
Family mediators help to solve disputes between married couples, siblings or other family units. People often seek the help of a mediator as an alternative to litigation and to avoid the costs of hiring an attorney. Mediators can be trained in many different areas and are often hired to settle work place disputes or disagreements between business partners. Family mediators require specialized knowledge of handling conflicts between relatives.
Other People Are Reading
-
Training Curriculum
-
Family law mediation training programs focus on a variety of different competencies. These programs are family-focused and are designed to prepare students for mediating problems between relatives. Family law mediators also resolve disputes in divorce, custody and visitation issues, and division of property. The participants are trained in key areas of conflict management such as active listening, communication, negotiation and influence.
Practical Skills Training
-
Family law mediators must acquire the skills necessary to effectively mediate a dispute. Through role plays and demonstrations, mediators are able to apply the skills they've learned in the classroom in practice mediation settings with their peers. Training programs require several hours of role plays so students can gain practical mediation experience as well as constructive feedback in a non-critical environment.
-
Types Of Programs
-
Many mediators begin their careers having completed a basic, 40-hour mediation training program. Basic programs lay the framework for a mediation practice by sharpening the participants' influence skills as well as their knowledge of the theories within the conflict resolution industry. Thirty and forty hour programs are available that focus specifically on family mediation and divorce mediation. These programs are designed to build upon the skills acquired at the basic level and focus on conflicts that affect families.
Ethical Issues
-
Family mediators are responsible for reviewing sensitive information. They receive extensive training on the required standards of their occupation and how to conduct their mediation practice ethically. Ethical competencies, such as client confidentiality and how to appropriately involve law enforcement in legal disputes, are apart of a mediator's training curriculum.
Accredidation And Certification
-
There currently is no national certifying authority for mediators. There are, however, several mediation educational programs that train mediators to do their jobs effectively. Associations such as the American Arbitration Association and the Association of Conflict Resolution regulate family mediation and other training programs to ensure they provide the instruction required to produce competent and professional mediators.
-
References
- Photo Credit mans_handshake image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
