Bill Waters and Wanda Joseph are excited about the possibilities that mediation offers Michigan communities.

We are committed to supporting the community dispute resolution programs and the local courts working together to bring community solutions to citizens entangled in disputes.

* We offer the 40 hour mediator training for both general civil and domestic relations mediatons. These trainings meet the requirements established in Michigan Court Rule 2.411 (General Civil) and MCR 3.216 (Domestic Relations/divorce).

* We also offer advanced mediator training, (En)Lighten Up! The Power of Humor and Mindfulness in Mediation

Our goals are to provide the opportunity for participants to learn the basic art and skills of mediation, including:

• The skills and techniques of effective intervention between conflicting parties to promote reconciliation, settlement or compromise.
• The ability to facilitate a productive conversation between the parties so that new possibilities for resolution open between them.
• An understanding of the options of mediation within the larger framework of the alternative dispute resolution field.

We offer this opportunity by way of a multi-dimensional but well integrated training/educational model using the best elements of Issue Based Learning (IBL), small group exercises, role-playing, breakout sessions, with a minimum of lecturing.

We will make liberal but judicious use of art and literature and other media in the form of selected hand-outs, power point presentations and videos, as a means for understanding the dynamics of mediation in the general civil context.

As experienced adult facilitators, we recognize that programs such as this call upon the best elements of training and education.

We are, therefore, prepared to do both.

The education in our model revolves around analysis of the whys and wherefores, and the training revolves around practical application. Throughout the training, we will model enthusiasm for the possibilities of mediation!

ALSO:-

* (En)Lighten Up! The Power of Humor and Mindfulness in Mediation
Step outside the mediator’s box for a day with your colleagues in a creative exploration of the possibilities that humor and mindfulness bring to mediation. Recent research on humor in mediation affirms that it relieves tension and opens up creativity and builds group cohesiveness, all valuable elements of the profession.

In the morning workshop, participants examine ways that they can make judicious use of lightheartedness in their practice.

In the afternoon, we explore the spiritual dimension of the mediator’s practice such as the ability to be centered and present in the moment, or in other words, to practice mindfulness.

Mediation requires an ability to rise above the ordinary for all involved. We ask parties to think about the present and future, rather than the past, and to let go of the limitations of positions and premises. In the workshop, we ask participants to consider detached awareness, to let go of judgment and expectations while calling upon their inner strengths in order to find their best selves and invite the best in others.

In this workshop, Wanda Joseph and Bill Waters challenge each other and participants to transcend the SERIOUS limits of "business as usual" and incorporate the RESPONSIBLE use of HUMOR and its useful dynamics.