SLBMI Mediation Services >>Mediation Services

What does it mean to be involved in mediation?

Mediation is a confidential session consisting of spoken and written communication between parties. Mediation is used to handle many types of conflict from divorce to feuding children.

Is mediation confidential?

At SLBMI, confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Everything that is discussed or recorded in a mediation session remains private. Not all mediators and mediation services handle confidentiality in the same way so it is very important to understand the policy and procedures that govern privacy and confidentiality before agreeing to mediation. The mediator will not disclose any aspect of these communications to an outside party unless required by law, such as if a patient is in harm's way ("Duty to Warn")or when there is reason to suspect a child is in harm's way ("Mandatory Reporting"). In other words, safety trumps privacy.

What goes on in a mediation session?

The following is the standard operating procedure at SLBMI Mediation Services regarding written communication. We believe this process is an absolute necessity for successful mediation.There are two types of documents produced from the mediation process that are given to the mediating participants, a mediation agreement and a settlement statement.

The Mediation Agreement: A Mediation Agreement is signed by participants present in the initial session. Each person appearing in a mediation session reviews and signs an Agreement. The Agreement comes in three versions, one for adults, adolescents and children (for times when mediation is used to settle conflicts between feuding children in school or in a neighborhood or within a family).

Each person signs their own Agreement with parents or guardians co-signing with the kids. The mediator or mediation team will also sign an Agreement. If participants are added at a later session, an Agreement Addendum is created, reviewed, signed and distributed in the same fashion. The Mediation Agreement is read out loud, discussed, signed and dated. Documents will not contain photostats and will only use original signatures, no exceptions.
The mediator's Mediation Agreement is kept secure on file. It is not released, copied, distributed or shared with any third party or parties, even upon request of the mediating parties.

Settlement Statements: Intermediate Settlement Statements outline what agreements have been made to date and what each participant, including the mediator, will accomplish in the period between sessions. There is a separate and specific statement for each participant distributed at the end of each mediation session.

When mediation reaches a conclusion, the Summary Settlement Statement is drafted and distributed outlining any and all parts of the final agreements in as much detail as needed. Again, each participant, including the mediator, receives an endorsed original document. In the event that a participant drops out or discontinues mediation or the participants can not reach an agreement, a Summary Settlement Statement will indicate these facts and will be distributed to the attending participant(s) stating that no settlement could be reached. If the participants agree in writing that the Summary Settlement Statement needs to be supplied to other parties not present in the mediation such as courts, attorneys, unions, businesses, family members, schools, etc, then additional documents are generated and signed and the mediator is responsible for delivering these documents to the outside party or parties with all efforts to safeguard privacy.

Overview of Mediation and Collaborative Divorce Services Available at SLBMI (PDF)