How to Support Your Practice as a Mediator

October 2023

For many of us, we may be flying solo as a mediator. We are finding our own clients and working on our own. Some mediations may be more challenging than others and we find that we might want to know what other mediators’ experience of mediation is really like.

There are a number of ways that we hear other mediators’ thoughts on conducting mediations and the particular challenges that they have had along the way. Some of these are as follows:

1. Attend seminars, webinars and conferences

Resolution Institute holds many seminars and webinars. These provide mediators’ sharing of approaches to mediation and what the experience of mediating has been like for them. Resolution Institute holds a conference for mediators, the last one being in October 2022. The National Mediation Conference is held every second year with mediators from Australia and New Zealand. The last one was in early September this year in Wellington. It also has international speakers. The Pulse newsletter of Resolution Institute also provides details from time to time of conferences overseas. They would be an opportunity to meet more international mediators.

2. Network

Don’t be the only mediator that you know! It is great to meet other mediators and hear about the kind of work that they are doing, and how they feel about their work. Comparing notes of the experience (whilst preserving client confidentiality) can remind you that you are not alone, and that all mediators find their work an ongoing learning curve. There are opportunities for networking at seminars and conferences. Even attending a live webinar can be a way of networking as you get to “meet” online other mediators and hear their views.

3. Engage in mentoring or reflective practice

It is very helpful to reflect on how your work is going. Engaging in reflective practice with a mentor can provide an opportunity for this. This will involve talking through a problem that occurred in a recent mediation and what you could have done in hindsight to manage it. It will also be about reflecting on how the mediation made you feel, for example, the impact of the high emotions or negative mindset of one of the parties.

4. Read books, articles and blogs

Many mediators have put their thoughts on paper in books, articles and blogs. For example, the Pulse newsletter of Resolution Institute includes articles from members each month. Resolution Institute publishes The Arbitrator and Mediator journal. There is also the Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal (ADRJ) published by Thomson Reuters. There are blogs on The Australian Dispute Resolution Research Network website. The Network was founded in 2012 by a group of leading dispute resolution academics from across Australia. There are many books on mediation by esteemed Australian colleagues. For example, Resolution Institute fellow and board member, Mieke Brandon AM, has written the seminal text on family mediation, together with her co-author, Linda Fisher. This is Mediating with Families, Fourth Edition, 2018. Mieke has also written on workplace mediation, being the text, Conflict and Dispute Resolution: A Guide for Practice, 2007. This is co-authored with Leigh Robertson. There is the practice guide, The Mediator’s Handbook: Skills and Strategies for Practitioners, Third Edition 2014, by Ruth Charlton, Geoff Charlton and Micheline Dewdney. Professor Laurence Boulle has written extensively in the area of mediation. For example, he co-wrote with Nadja Alexander, Mediation Skills and Techniques, 3rd edition, 2019. Professor Rachael Field has also written a lot in the area, including Australian Dispute Resolution, 2021. There are, no doubt, many other prominent Australian mediators who write in this area.

5. Use resources about mediator careers

Look for blogs and webinars where mediators reflect on their careers and their thoughts on mediation as a career. Consider using a business coach to help you look at your vision for your business and the steps to make it a reality. Accessing the above resources will give you great tips on mediation skills and practice, as well as an overall view of the role and challenges of being a mediator. They will also give you an opportunity to feel supported in the profession, as you are following the path that other mediators have trod before you. The support can also be through the connections that you make with other mediators and any reflective practice you undertake through a mentor.

Elizabeth Rosa is a Nationally Accredited Mediator, a Trainer and the Principal of Resolve at Work. Elizabeth runs professional development workshops for mediators. Her next workshop is The Business of Being a Mediator in November 2023.