Mediation does NOT work
... at least according to these folk at the sharp end;
Marie1958 says yesterday over at LA Legal that...
"Court ordered mediation should be taken out of our judicial system. It is a legal form of verbal and emotional abuse.
It should be abolished from our legal system. When all it causes is pain and emotional despair, what is the point... When our court system does not understand what goes on outside of the court room, and in everyday life.
Mediation is just a legal way for a very angry person to be able to force another person to be hurt, degraded and demean another. Mediation is a legal form of emotional and mental cruelty..." [I have tidied up the spelling but read more here]
And this from a Katrina survivor;
4 comments:
Geoff, your post had more effect than my morning jolt of caffeine to kick me into high gear this morning. That video both broke my heart and created steam coming out of my ears.
Folks who don't know or don't believe that mediators should show any compassion are contributing to a public increasingly suspect of mediation. I'm all for a variety of approaches from which people can choose, yet I'm realizing as I write this that the no-compassion-all-"business" approach is anathema to what I consider real mediation.
Tammy
Having been a California Superior Court Family Mediator, I can tell you in many, many instances court-ordered mediation can be harmful as many of the mediators do not understand the power differentials and thus cannot neutralize them. Also I used to do four mediations a day...how much can you do in one hour it is truly ridiculous! But it has good intentions... but you know how that is.
Geoff & Friends, nothing like a "negative to" approach to get the observants bood boiling! Really, did your first contributor....Tammy....believe your video post was real life?....Dear Tammy, it's a commercial for the lawyers to try and prevent others playing their field. As for Danah, A bit ambiguous, did u do 4 mediations an hour or a day? its unclear( maybe you should'nt have done any!) lol only kidding , im sure you we good at your job...anyway I hope whatever you're doing now is less time consuming! By the way, the spelling was fine( for a lawyer!)....just an observer./
Actually I am very supportive of mediation as a tool to mend conflict. Which is why I am a practicing mediator...my focus is focused on child-custody mediation! But court-ordered, rushed mediation is not always a good answer
for anyone. I did four mediations a day...just like many of the over-worked mediators at our state courts.
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