The Art of Family Mediation is a foundational text for the mediation classroom at all levels-- graduate, undergraduate, and post-graduate. Expert mediator and trainer Lynn MacBeth explains family mediation theory and technique in a clear and compelling text that blends an overview of the research and literature with her unique insights and experience in the field. To understand the magic of mediation is to understand the mysteries of family dynamics, human communication, emotional processes, and conflict management and intervention. The therapeutic aspects of mediation, together with the legal and ethical fundamentals necessary to practicing family mediation are set forth concisely in one comprehensive source, with consideration given to the laws and practices of multiple U.S. states. For students, this book provides an understanding of the evolution of thought, practices, and legislation affecting family mediation. For instructors, an organized approach to the subject with case scenarios, materials, teaching tips, and questions for discussion provides one source for an established course that has endured and evolved over a decade. Professor MacBeth designed and teaches The Art of Mediation at Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a pioneer in the mediation movement, having first received her training from the adherents of O.J. Coogler, the father of family mediation in America. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has been a mediator, trainer, and attorney for over twenty-five years.

The Art of Family Mediation, now in its third edition, is a foundational text for the mediation classroom at all levels-- graduate, undergraduate, and post-graduate. Expert mediator and trainer Lynn MacBeth explains family mediation theory and technique in a clear and compelling text that blends an overview of the research and literature with her unique insights and experience in the field. To understand the magic of mediation is to understand the mysteries of family dynamics, human communication, emotional processes, and conflict management and intervention. The therapeutic aspects of mediation, together with the legal and ethical fundamentals necessary for practicing family mediation are set forth concisely in one comprehensive source, with consideration given to the laws and practices of multiple U.S. states. Updates and additions include legal updates, new role plays, and new advanced skills. For students, The Art of Mediation provides an understanding of the evolution of thought, practices, methods, and legislation affecting family mediation. For instructors, an organized approach to the subject with case scenarios, materials, teaching tips, and questions for discussion provides one source for an established course that has endured and evolved over two decades.

Building on the success of their groundbreaking 1988 Divorce Mediation, Folberg et al. now present the latest state-of-the-art, comprehensive resource on family and divorce mediation. Paving the way for the field to establish its own distinct discipline and academic tradition, this authoritative volume offers chapters contributed by leading mediation researchers, trainers, and practitioners. Detailed are the theory behind mediation practice, the contemporary social and political context, and practical issues involved in mediating divorce and custody disputes with contemporary families. Authors also address intriguing questions about professional standards and where the field should go from here. A groundbreaking resource, this volume is indispensable for all mental health and legal professionals working with families in transition.

This workbook is designed for basic mediation training. Authors Scott Hughes, Mark Bennett, and Michele Hermann take NITA's performance-based training for trial lawyers and adapt it to training for mediators. The authors have used these materials extensively in their mediation training classes at law schools and in programs open to the public. The Art of Mediation, Second Edition, sets the mediation process in context, provides basic definitions, contrasts mediation with other forms of dispute resolution, describes varieties of mediation, and lays out roles and functions of the mediators. The book contains forms that illustrate sample agreements to mediate and final mediation agreements, plus a section containing hypothetical situations for performance training. Reviews "I have used the first edition of The Art of Mediation in my classes for almost a decade and I definitely intend to use the Second Edition in the future. Students like the book because it is so practical and easy to read. I like it because it presents a variety of perspectives so that students learn that there is no one right or easy way to mediate." — John Lande, Associate Professor and Director, LL.M. Program in Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law Columbia

Preface by Hugh McIsaac Family mediation has quickly become a significant means of legal dispute resolution, recognized in most North American jurisdictions as a relief to already overburdened judicial systems. Using an innovative practical approach, the authors of Family Mediation incorporate the pivotal principles of family therapy into this new context--the judicial realm of family mediation. The practice model--therapeutic family mediation--thoroughly treats history, specific issues, and practice in an ecosystemic approach and responds to feminist critique of mediation. In addition, the authors offer important perspectives on mediating with multicultural populations and the role of the mediator in child custody disputes and child protection cases. Through examination of family mediation research as well as helpful case history vignettes, the authors of this volume take action to fill significant gaps between family therapy and mediation. Family Mediation provides a new take on family mediation that will benefit not only professionals and researchers in family studies, social work, clinical psychology, and sociology but also professional and volunteer mediators, conciliation court personnel, and family law specialists. "Family Mediation is an excellent blend of scholarship and practice, and it is the best of the books I have read on family mediation. First, it is clear and well written. Second, it provides an in-depth, current review of the divorce literature. The literature on divorce is large, uneven, and difficult to interpret. The authors have done a service to the profession by skillfully reviewing and integrating this literature." --Stephen J. Bahr, Brigham Young University "This book is one of the most comprehensive and well-researched texts on mediation to date. The authors have compiled an immense array of information regarding the history of family mediation, the practice and knowledge base, a review of literature regarding divorce, the principles of mediation, gender and cultural issues, elements in a child custody dispute, sharing parenting, cultural issues, and the use of mediation in dependency, and they include an excellent summary of research conducted. . . . Of particular value is the enormous scope of the review of literature and the work of others, not only in Canada but also the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, underscoring the international nature of this transformation. What Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have done is chart a major shift in the handling of conflict and they have done it very well." --Family and Conciliation Courts Review "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have surveyed and summarized an immense amount of material within the covers of this volume, presenting it in a clear, readable style. It is one of the rare texts on mediation that does justice to the complexity of families generally and families in North America particularly--to their diversity of culture, to the scope of feminist thought and gender differences, and to the ranges of social class. Their attention to divergent forms of mediation and differences in practice across jurisdictions is broadly sighted. An excellent choice for a text in mediation." --Mary A. Duryee, Family Court Services, Alameda County, Oakland, CA "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin grapple with what is the most difficult event that confronts almost half of all modern families--divorce. Historically, the developmental issues and problems surrounding divorce have been solved in the courts. But modern-day courts are overwhelmed by an avalanche of divorce cases, more than a million a year, and are unable to meet the needs of separating parties. Family Mediation offers a fundamentally different approach from the conventional legal system. The empirical research and clinical experience Irving and Benjamin bring to bear on this subject have resulted in the seminal work in this area. This delightful and thoughtful book is a must for the modern mediation practitioner who works with families and children." --Duncan Lindsey, Professor, UCLA, and Editor-in-Chief, Children and Youth Services Review "This book is unique in providing a complete overview of relevant subject areas for family mediation under one cover. Its writing is timely because it dispels some of the myths in the rapidly expanding field of family mediation. . . . Family Mediation is a comprehensive text that follows the development of family mediation through the present and concludes with the predictors of future directions. It is perhaps the most thorough critical review of the literature pertaining to family mediation and develops an inclusive practical model of practice for practitioners. The book is readable . . . responsible, and of interest to family mediators and the family law lawyers who work closely with them. It may become a must as a background for the novice family mediator about to embark on a course of training." --Laurel Pearson, McWhinney, Metcalfe, and Associates, Toronto, Canada

The field of mediation currently lacks a unifying theoretical foundation. This book attempts to remedy that by presenting one such comprehensive theoretical model. Family systems theory is based on the work of Murray Bowen, who was among the initial proponents of family therapy. Bowen family systems theory describes human relationships and human functioning using a systemic lens that conceptualizes human behavior through an intricate web of emotional processes. As a practicing mediator, teacher, and academic, Regina offers a systemic understanding of successful mediation, meditation techniques, the relationships between disputants, and the importance of mediator emotional maturity. He discusses the co-mediator relationship, the effects of multiple parties such as attorneys and stakeholder groups on the mediation process, the reasons for failed mediation, and the overall importance of theory in practice. This book provides a practical guide for the mediation practitioner and will assist both experienced and novice mediators in successfully navigating the often-intense, emotional minefield of mediation.

The modern emergence of mediation in the West in the 1980s represents a profound transformation of civil disputing practice, particularly in the field of family justice. In the field of family disputes mediation has emerged to fill a gap which none of the existing services, lawyers and courts on the one hand, or welfare, advisory or therapeutic interventions on the other, could in their nature have filled. In the UK mediation is now the approved pathway in the current landscape of family dispute resolution processes, officially endorsed and publicly funded by government to provide separating and divorcing families with the opportunity to resolve their disputes co-operatively with less acrimony, delay and cost than the traditional competitive litigation and court process. The consolidation of the professional practice of family mediation reflects its progress and creativity in respect both of the expanding focus on professional quality assurance as well as on developments of policy, practice guidelines and training to address central concerns about the role of children in mediation, screening for domestic abuse, sexual orientation and gender identity as well as cross-cultural issues including the role of interpreters in the process. Other areas of innovation include the application of family mediation to a growing range of family conflict situations involving, for example, international family disputes (including cross border, relocation and child abduction issues). Written by leaders in family mediation, this title provides a contemporary account of current practice developments and research concerning family mediation across a range of issues in the UK and Ireland.