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Comparisons Between Narrative Mediation and Other Mediation ModelsOne of the ways to identify the characteristics of narrative mediation is to compare it to other approaches. There are two mediation models that dominate the mediation and conflict resolution field in the West at present: Interest-Based/Problem-Solving Mediation and Transformative Mediation. Below is a comparative chart that draws distinctions between narrative mediation, interest-based mediation and transformative mediation. The distinctions are drawn based upon definitions, underlying values and beliefs, mediation goals, and key strategies. INTEREST-BASEDNARRATIVETRANSFORMATIVEQuestion 1: Definition of Mediation Mediation involves an impartial person facilitating a process that helps conflicted parties invent solutions to their conflict which meet the interests of both sides. Mediation is a process which assists people who are negatively constrained by the effects and limitations of conflictual stories to co-author stories of cooperation, and mutual respect. The mediator's role is to co-author with the parties, lived experiences that lie outside of the conflict and story narratives of shared meaning and mutual understanding. Mediation strives to diminish the influence of those dominant cultural narratives that restrain peoples' efforts to understand the other. It seeks to create a context where diverse cultural perspectives are accepted and in some instances embraced by people previously in conflict. Mediation enables people in conflict to develop a greater degree of both self-determination and responsiveness to others while they explore solutions to specific issues. Has potential to strengthen the capacity to analyze situations and make effective decisions and the capacity to see and consider the perspective of others. It is a self-empowering process that emphasizes self-determination and a relational perspective. Question 2: Values and Underlying Beliefs People are individuals and viewed as prime movers in their own worlds. Individuals act independently and are accountable for their choices. Parties are pursuing a path of self-interest and that both parties must meet their needs in order to be successful in a negotiation. The identification of an individual's needs and accommodation of her or his interests are viewed as the object of a community. People have the capacity to make their own decisions and are better suited to finding solutions to their conflicts than outsiders. Culture, as opposed to inner forces and individual needs, shapes and constructs peoples' positions and interests. Stories shape people's attitudes, beliefs, and identity. People are restrained by discourses from acting respectfully. There are multiple descriptions of problems. The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem. When cultural discourses produce conflict between people, the deconstruction of cultural clashes provide an opportunity for people to act with agency and resourcefulness. People are individual and interconnected - they have separate identities but live in relation to others. Conflict is a crisis in human interaction. Parties in conflict are self-absorbed and experience relative uncertainty about their goals, strengths and needs. The parties have what it takes to deal effectively with their own conflicts, and are best placed to decide when, whether and how to do so. Holding an optimistic view about the parties' competence, motives and values. More than achieving individual gain people seek moral growth represented by empowerment and recognition. Out of their deepening confusion, the parties will find clarity. Mediation has the potential to empower individuals to achieve greater "insights" into the cares, concerns, interests and values that are at work in conflict -- both their own and those of other parties, as well as insights into the relations that connect them. Individuals have the strengths to deal effectively with their own conflicts and are best placed to decide when, whether and how to do so. Question 3: Overall Goal To help parties move from stuck positions in a conflict to focus on shared mutual interests to generate solutions. Task is to clarify own interests and the interests on the other side to increase understanding of the problem. To form a partnership with disputing parties to better understand the stories behind the conflict and to co-produce their alternative preferred stories in order to provide a basis of mutual understanding to find a way forward. Premises shape practice: beliefs guide action. Support parties' desire for moral growth and development; their opportunity to act from compassionate strength. Assist parties to move from positions of relative weakness and uncertainty to strength and from self-absorption to an ability to listen and respond to another's perspective. Question 4: Key Strategies Separate people from the problem by: Acknowledging emotions, improving communications and developing trust. Write problem on whiteboard and get parties to "combine against the problem." Time set aside for parties to think up a wide range of possible solutions that advance their shared interests. Mediators help parties brainstorm as many ideas as possible to solve the problem. Options and ideas are evaluated and selected with an eye to mutual gain. Where parties cannot agree on substance they are encouraged to agree on procedure. An objective criteria is utilized to evaluate options based upon criteria such as market value, expert opinion, business practice. People negotiate to produce something better than the results they could obtain without negotiating. Parties are encouraged to develop a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement). A BATNA is the standard against which a proposed settlement should be measured. The use of curiosity, na?ve inquiry and respectful persistence is employed by the mediator throughout the mediation process. Externalizing conversations are employed to separate the problem from persons. Mediator establishes with the parties the inter-relational and cyclical nature of conflict. Mediator invites historicizing the problem and storying its effects on the parties. Utilizing relative influence questions and mapping the effects of the problem. Deconstructing parties' positions, interests and expectations to assist in the construction of shared meanings and understandings. Managing the relational position produced by conflictual interactions. Amassing exceptions and building preferred non-conflict stories. Mediator uses a range of questions to co-construct the non-conflictual story: Unique outcome questions: "How is it that the conflict did not completely stop you from wanting to find your way through the present difficulties?" Unique account questions: "How have you been able to begin to understand X's point of view when you have suffered from so much distrust?" Re-describing questions: "What does your movement away from animosity say about your abilities to resolve a painful set of issues?" Using letter writing to document change. A carefully constructed opening that describes mediation in terms of empowerment and recognition -- setting the stage -- one that invites parties to shape process as well as outcomes. Mediator follows the parties' lead while remaining proactive with regard to looking for opportunities to support empowerment and recognition. Mediator enacts a micro-focus, concentrating on the here and now, attentive to the parties' interactions, and seeking cues that signal opportunities to foster empowerment and recognition. Inviting reflection through the use of elicitive, open-ended questions. Inviting/encouraging the parties to hear, understand and acknowledge the other person's perspectives: give recognition (cognitive empathy). Paraphrasing to assist parties in identifying a request for recognition or to acknowledge a request for empowerment. Asking clarifying questions, particularly with regard to opportunities for empowerment on topics such as: the parties' goals. their resources, strengths, skills and knowledge and how they might be used. identify and clarify their options -- both process and substance. decide what information they need and where and how to obtain that data. Supporting parties' expressions of emotions -- based on the belief that there is important information in those feelings. Chart developed by Gerald Monk, Cheryl Picard and Michael Lang ................
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