Concordia trains first group of prospective family and civil mediators

Thirteen participants representing leading organisations in Malta have received a first certification in generic mediation skills training.

The programme hosted by Concordia was led by Delma Sweeney, director of Conflict Resolution Mediation Consultants, Dublin, Practitioner Member (MII) and founding member of the World Mediation Forum.

The candidates included Sina Bugeja, CEO, Sedqa; Joseph Farrugia, director-general, Malta Employee Association; Anthony Azzopardi, assistant director, Department of Labour and Industrial Relations; Christopher Bezzina, lecturer and director, Office of Professional Practice, University of Malta; Joseph Agius, speech-language pathologist and principal of the Speech Language Department; Lino Vassallo, Union Haddiema Maghqudin; Joe Gerada, CEO, Appogg; Theresa Micallef, social worker, head of Family Unit, Appogg;

John O'Dea, executive secretary, Pietà council; Joseph Mangion, head of Training and Family Counselling, Cana Movement; Anna O'Connell, HR divisional manager, Pharmamed; Mary Grech Hardie, former executive, Ares Serono, Geneva; Adrian Muscat Inglott, consumer affairs adviser, Ministry for Economic Services (and consumer affairs columnist of The Sunday Times).

The first group of participants, particularly those specialising in family mediation, will be proceeding with further training leading to full accreditation in conformity with Mediators Institute Ireland and European standards in order to effectively carry out the function of family mediators once mandatory mediation comes into force in Malta.

The training the participants have received is the first part of an extensive training programme accredited by the Mediators Institute Ireland (MII). The initial core module, consists mainly of a generic programme focused on conflict analysis and escalation theory, negotiation and mediation dynamics, process knowledge (interventions, strategies and tactics) and a skill development training workshop spread out to allow ample time for reflection, review of required readings and further evaluation of the mediation process.

Part I is seen as an introductory course to mediation which could be applied in different arenas such as family, commercial, community, environmental, public policy, education and personal development.

It is tailor-made to suit the needs arising in our local context, mainly those in places of work, communities, government organisations, the private sector, NGOs and other helping professions.

On completion of Part I, participants move on to Part II Professional Training which focuses on the specialised field of mediation chosen by the candidates (family, commercial, public policy, workplace, etc) and a practicum consisting of co-mediation and independent mediation of cases under the supervision of a recognized mediator-supervisor.

Other additional hours to the programme as in the case of family consist of taught modules related to Maltese family law, social policy and psychological aspects such as stages of child development, theories of loss and grief. Concordia will be offering other professional mediation training in organisational and workplace mediation tailor-made for Malta and accredited by the MII.

CRMC has developed a programme for Concordia Family Mediation Training which complies with the standards of both the Mediators Institute Ireland and the European Forum for Family Mediation.

These two organisations accredit family mediators to the highest standards in the world. Outside the family sector candidates may become accredited by the Mediators Ireland Institute (MII), the officially-recognised training body for mediator practitioners in Ireland.

Such training programmes should be distinguished from introductory mediation awareness courses which do not provide a qualification for mediation practice.

MII is the professional association of mediators in Ireland and accredits mediators. The Family Mediation Service (FMS), the Irish Government nationwide service providing mediation for separating couples, employs only those accredited by the MII as do government agencies employing mediators in other fields.

The Institute oversees the development of mediation in Ireland in many fields - peacemaking, community mediation, workplace and organizational mediation, mediating multiparty and public policy disputes, commercial mediation, victim offender mediation, peer mediation and family mediation. The MII annual conference draws the nation's mediators together and brings international trainers to Ireland.

Training objectives

Family mediation training aims to provide an in-depth specialization of mediation skills and practices, thereby assisting mediation competence and the professional transition to the family mediator role.

Family mediation in separation should be distinguished from legal advice and from marital counselling and therapy. Family mediators seek to re-establish communication between couples to help them reach concrete decisions in relation to their post-separation parenting and financial arrangements.

Mediators often suggest referral to other sources of professional help such as counsellors, social workers and lawyers whenever this may be needed.

The European Forum for Training and Research in Family Mediation is a voluntary not-for-profit professional organisation which draws together national, regional and local organisations in Europe working in the field of divorce, separation and family conflict.

The forum was established in 1996 by family mediation trainers from European countries who worked together in a series of meetings co-ordinated by the training committee of the French association APMF (Association pour la Promotion de la Mediation Familiale).

The aim of the European Forum is to develop, promote and co-ordinate training and research in the field of family mediation in order to provide quality standards for the practice of family mediation in Europe.

Essential elements

The essential elements of family mediation training are:

Training in family mediation principles, methods and skills must be provided by professionally qualified and practising mediators.

The minimum length of training required is 180 hours.

The training should be structured over a period of time to enable mediators to integrate and apply the skills they acquire in training.

The training should include formal teaching, presentations and lectures, practical exercises and role plays, case analysis, use of different training resources and a focus on the mediator's self-development.

Core content

A comprehensive knowledge-base covering: the availability, structure and process of family mediation and the different tasks undertaken by the mediator at different stages of the process; the fundamental principles of family mediation in empowering participants to reach their own decisions through engaging in a co-operative dialogue and to achieve positive outcomes; the place of children and adolescents in family mediation

The development of specific family mediation skills: maintaining balance and impartiality in mediation; identifying each party's concerns so that the discussions which take place in mediation take the account of the needs of all concerned; managing participants differences of view and conflict; managing power imbalances in the relationships between participants and in their material resources; exploring options in order to reach decisions acceptable to the parties concerned.

Knowledge specific to core component areas: psychology: couples relationships and dynamics, crises and conflicts, child development, the impact of separation on all members of the family; sociology: the family life-cycle, cultural and ethnic diversity; conflict management; communication and conflict management skills; relations with other professionals working in the field of separation - judges, lawyers, social workers, advice agencies, understanding their respective roles and expertise.

Family mediation training must include a component of supervised practical training, such practical training should include participation in mediation sessions under the supervision of a recognized mediator-supervisor.

Written documents of these mediation sessions must be maintained for competence assessment by mediation trainers/assessors. MII accreditation, for example, requires an Accreditation Journal which will clearly set out the skills and competencies that each mediator must demonstrate in case work.

The booklet is completed as the trainee progresses through Part II by a process of joint evaluation between the supervisor and the trainee mediator. The journal is composed of five sections: Family mediation knowledge; Values in action; Mediation process skills; Professional responsibility and practice; Transition from profession of origin.

Family mediation: where mediation begins

Over the years our world has been ravaged by wars, violence and terrorism. Amidst such brutality, how do we ensure that people continue to understand the importance of peace-building approaches to conflict resolution and management?

During such challenging times, how do we strengthen ourselves and help others see diversity and conflict as opportunities to grow and learn? The answer lies clearly in our family relationships, and in our interactions and experiences with our children.

However, challenging they may be, family relationships provide the prototypical example of how individuals who live together must behave in order to maintain peaceful co-existence.

In our family we face difficult emotional consequences of separation, addictions, school-related problems, adversarial experiences, economic hardship, the challenges of elderly care, and other problematic issues.

To support families through such challenges, it is essential to increase the acceptance of approaches to these conflicts that honour differences of opinion and ensure the right to be free from fear, physical intimidation or abuse throughout the process.

Just as the family forms the building block of our community and society, non-violent methods of resolving our conflicts provide the building blocks of a peaceful world. The forces that drive families into internal and external interpersonal conflict are basically the same as those that drive whole groups of people to war and terrorism. Wars and terrorism exist within families, just on a smaller scale, in the same way they exist between countries and cultures.

Therefore family-based conflict resolution interventions can serve as a portal into the larger-scale conflict and conflict resolution processes. By teaching and modeling peaceful means of conflict resolution to our children and within our society (whether as mediators or parties in conflict), our children will learn to use and value these techniques, instead of first resorting to the more violent and degrading forms of power and control that feed so many destructive conflicts every day.

Audrienne Spiteri Gonzi is director, Concordia Malta Centre for Conciliation and Mediation Services.

For further information on mediation training programmes, accreditation, family mediation, peer mediation, customised conflict management and negotiations training and short certificate courses starting in October call 9988-2225 or e-mail info@concordia-adr.org