Saturday, August 30

Rate your mediator

The Modern Woman's Divorce Guide provides a number of tools for divorcing women, including how to score the mediator (Yes, I know, I could have said that better).

Take a look at;

Mediator Interview Questionnaire - questions to interview mediators and find the best match, including;

What are your opinions about divorce?
What are your opinions about child custody and visitation
How many mediation matters or clients do you currently have?

Mediator Evaluation Worksheet - for recording important facts about the mediators and any assistants, including;

Did the receptionist handle my telephone calls pleasantly and confidently? Yes/No
If the mediator wasn’t available, did the receptionist know when he/she would be available? Yes/No
During my office visit, did the receptionist greet me warmly? Yes/No
Did the receptionist mention other clients’ names while in my presence? Yes/No
Did the staff discuss other cases within my earshot? Yes/No


Legit or BS?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I say BS, Geoff.

One of the questions that stands out on the "Mediator Interview Questionnaire" is this one: "Are you a certified mediator? If so, by whom are you certified?"

I don't know how many times I have to say this, but in the U.S. the term "certified mediator" is largely meaningless. In most cases, there's simply no such animal. A handful of state courts in the U.S. "certify" mediators -- for example, I think the court system in New Hampshire certifies mediators for domestic relations cases. And some private organizations "certify" certain classes of its members, something that only creates confusion in the public mind, since all too often people mistake private certification for some kind of governmental imprimatur and oversight.

I get so frustrated when I see advice like this, since it does nothing to help our field disseminate factually accurate information about the practice of mediation to consumers.

While no doubt they are well-intentioned, it's too bad the creators of this site insist on perpetuating this mediation urban legend.