Stages of Mediation

A step-by-step guide to the mediation process

Mediation is an informal meeting, which follows a standard plan. Knowing these stages often makes participants more relaxed about the process. When you have arranged mediation, these are the stages that you should expect:

Stage One: An Individual meeting

You will first be introduced to your mediator to discuss your concerns and learn more about the mediation. This meeting usually lasts sixty to ninety minutes and is mostly spent discussing your issues of the case. If at the end of this you think you want to meet the other party, then the mediator will tell them.

Stage Two: Meeting the other party

The mediators will contact the other party and request that they take part in the mediation. If they don’t want to, then you should discuss alternatives. The other party will talk to the mediators about their own thoughts and concerns, while receiving information about the process. The mediators will not tell the other party any of this information and will act in a completely objective manner. If both parties are willing then a joint meeting will be planned.

Step Three: Joint mediation

The parties will meet the each other beforehand to ensure that they both enter the room at the same time. The meeting will be a frank discussion of the relevant topics and barriers to agreement, and the mediator will generally lead the conversation. How the meeting will operate will be explained. It may seem that proceedings are laborious at the beginning, but the mediation will quickly pick up as time passes. You may wish for a private meeting with the mediators during the mediation. When this occurs both mediators will go with you to another room, while the other party will remain. Anything said in private will remain private, unless you say so.

Stage Four: Conclusion

The mediators will take down notes during the mediation which you may ask to view at any time, and they will be disposed of at the end of the session.The mediators will endeavor to aid the two parties in drawing up an agreement to outline the main agreed areas, which will needed to be signed and dated by the parties and the mediators. After this has been accomplished the mediators will remind you that anything said or done during the mediation cannot be discussed outside the meetings, unless both parties wish to talk about this to the manager.

Stage Five: Post Mediation

The mediators will talk to both sides after three months to see how things are going.