Spiritual or Virtue-Based Programs:

The Use of a Transformative Mediation Model

Over the past decade in particular, trainers have experienced a heightened demand for programs in spiritual, virtue-based, and faith-based mediation. Many mediators feel uncomfortable with this demand and fear that diversity is compromised with a faith-based model of conflict resolution. As a result, in most mediation programs, diversity of creed is deliberately ignored in the fear of being perceived as partial or judgmental. Our programs offer and illustrate a paradigm that has been successfully implemented for nearly two decades in a variety of mediation applications, ranging from family and health care mediation models to workplace and Diocesan models.

The transformative approach to such mediation provides a powerful dynamic that recognizes, accepts and utilizes the diverse spiritual persuasions of each party to a dispute. It acknowledges that first and foremost, man is a unity of body and spirit. Hence, man's spiritual dimension should never be ignored.

As a result, our training in the techniques and methods of such transcendental mediation models yields unique client energy. An uncommon personal fulfillment results from the blending of the practical with the spiritual. The client discovers empowerment from the empathic virtue-based recognition of the other. In this model, the training is rooted in transformative spiritual mediation. This means that religious diversity is not merely "tolerated" but in fact becomes a tool by which each participant attains self-actualization rooted in his or her belief systems.

Our training programs explore the critical differences between transformative and facilitative mediation. We highlight the natural advantages of using the transformative model in virtue-based or faith-based mediation. In the transformative model, mediators directly focus on the convictions and values of each party who is recognized as possessing untapped empowerment skills. Similarly, those universal truths that bind mankind together form a part of the mediation dialogue. Thus, the transformative mediator draws not only upon the diverse convictions of each client but also embraces an open interchange of those precepts that all men and women share in common. The training discussion mirrors the diversity of the ultimate client/mediator exchange. Each training program provides a guided framework through which the ultimate client can examine personal convictions and begin to make healthy choices which reflect those convictions.

The client's foundation for learning new communication skills continues with essential and practical recommendations from the fields of communication, psychology and mental health. As the totality of the person's needs are addressed, the client's fears are eased. Ultimately, the client begins to open the dialogue with others and the process and empowerment of self-mediation is launched. Within these mediation programs, incentives are not imposed by the coercive powers of a legal system or by the persuasive powers of the mediator; rather, the motivation for problem-solving is summoned from within each client's core beliefs. This is freeing, not only for the clients who feel more respected, but also for the mediator who might otherwise view an unsuccessful mediation as a personal failure.

The training explores a variety of training models ranging from Marriage and Family Mediation, to Health Care Mediation, to Workplace and Diocesan models. All aspects of the mediation process are examined, from the drafting of the initial agreement to mediate, to the written homework and exercises, and finally to the construction of the ultimate personal mediation agreement.

Each session entails interaction with role play exercises designed to exemplify the transformative approach. These exercises are fashioned to help the client evoke an empathic response, communicate unexpressed needs, and give expression to mutual recognition and empowerment skills. Transformative virtue-based mediation is both creative and hopeful. The process is designed to release the client from inhibiting fears and communication styles, while blending practical and spiritual resources in problem-solving.

The method fosters encouragement of and respect for the dignity of each participant. The process draws upon into the spiritual revenues of each participant so that informed choices can yield healthy consequences based upon a keener realization of personal goals and creeds. In this model, the training method underscores the clients' primary roles. The secondary role of the mediator is reassuring to the clients who begin to see that they can in fact take control of their own issues. Although the mediator's role is secondary, it entails vital aspects in helping the client attain self-actualization. Among these functions, the mediator serves as an objective mirror reflecting the stated beliefs through interest-based questions. In this particular model, the mediator works through a team approach with mental health counselors and spiritual advisors who also work with each client in the search for personal satisfaction and empowerment.

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