Mediate Michigan

When people think of mediation, they think of “traditional” mediation. In this type of mediation, the mediator focuses on helping people come to an acceptable agreement, usually written. It is a solution-oriented process. The mediator focuses on resolvable issues where agreement can be reached. It is the type of mediation often used in workplaces and with divorcing couples. Because it is results-focused, the roots of the problem are not addressed. When used for divorce mediation, this can be appropriate because the couple has decided to end their marriage, and not deal with the reasons for the breakdown.

Another type of mediation is “transformative” mediation, which can be very helpful in ongoing marriages. Transformative mediation does not necessarily seek to resolve an immediate problem. It is a free-form process that does not immediately narrow its focus to try to seek solutions or agreements.

The transformative marital mediator helps guide the clients to talk and think deeply about issues that are troubling them about their marriage. These are often issues that the spouses cannot meaningfully talk about themselves because they are emotional issues. Talking about them always seems to be a replay of anger, and nothing seems to improve.

via Laurie Israel: Could Transformative Mediation Help Your Marriage?.