I offer accredited mediation services and am fully qualified to undertake dispute resolution and conflict management cases, working with either one or many parties, in civil, commercial, workplace, employment and community settings.
What is mediation and how does it work?
- Flexible & Confidential: Mediation is a flexible and entirely confidential process in which the parties in dispute are assisted by an independent third party, the mediator, to resolve their dispute. Put simply, it is a facilitated negotiation process.
- Solution-focussed:The parties themselves attend, and participate fully in, the mediation, with or without lawyers or union representatives present. No solution is imposed upon the parties and one of the strengths of the process is that the parties themselves decide the outcome and are only bound by it if they both/all agree to it.
- Voluntary & Without Prejudice: It is a wholly voluntary process and, if a solution cannot be reached, the parties are free to walk away without their legal positions being prejudiced.
- Mutually-agreed Outcomes: A mediator helps each party get their voice heard so they can work towards a solution they find acceptable
- HR, Legal & Union Friendly: I work alongside your HR team and any legal or trade union representatives where appropriate, while offering a confidential, impartial and independent service to the parties involved in mediation.
Find out more about my Mediation Services here:
Workplace Mediation & Employment Mediation
Health & Social Care Disputes Mediation
Court of Protection Dispute Mediation
Universities & Colleges Mediation
Charity Disputes Mediation
Elder Mediation and End-of-Life Conversations
Contact me to request a Brochure with pricing
“Arabella took great care to grasp the full picture of the circumstances between the two individuals accessing mediation. She listened ‘between the lines’, mirrored back what she heard to crystallise points made, posed interesting questions and provided just the right kind of gentle challenge to prompt the clients to develop new insights about their perspectives and relationship. By tasking the clients with the responsibility for generating responses and solutions for each other’s concerns, she made it appropriately clear that a successful outcome from the mediation process ultimately lay in their hands. This was enlightening and empowering for each of them. Arabella’s kindness shone through in each session, allowing each party to feel understood and well-supported.” [Mediation Feedback 2021]
Read my article on care disputes on the Civil Mediation Council website
Where is mediation or conflict coaching applicable?: |
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| Community mediation services |
- Neighbour disputes
- Police referrals
- Housing Association referrals
- Anti-Social Behaviour
- Health & wellbeing in the community
- Save police and housing association resources
- Draw a line under simmering tensions
- Successful tenancies
Health & Social Care mediation services
- NHS Staff Engagement/ Teamworking
- Patient / Professional complaints
- Care planning (Long term/ End of Life)
- Special Educational Needs & Disability
- Reduce sickness, absence and high turnover of staff
- Increase employee and patient wellbeing and engagement
- Prevent sticking points becoming complaints, concerns or tribunals
Family & Intergenerational mediation
- Disputes over wills and estates
- Care planning / management – disabilities, later life and end of life
- Parenting / Co-parenting
- Family tensions
- Preserve and enhance family relationships under pressure
- Get peace of mind about the future
- Decide about health, care, wellbeing and financial plans in good time
- Avoid emergency decisions
Employment & Workplace mediation services
- Allegations of bullying/harassment
- Grievances and investigations
- Managed exits / outplacement
- Team / line management tensions
- Understanding mental health / autism
- Foster employee wellbeing and engagement
- Reduce turnover and save recruitment costs
- Avoid costly and distressing tribunals
- Meet legal requirements to make reasonable adjustments employees
Public Dialogue
- Facilitating stakeholder consultation
- Public Involvement & Engagement
- Public services / Trade Unions
- Local authority / community disputes
- Involve stakeholders in co-owned decisions
- Create agreed future plans
- Reduce and avoid damaging PR
- Avoid legal proceedings
Civil & Commercial mediation services
- Contract disputes
- Business partnerships
- Board disputes
- Alternative to litigation / court proceedings
- Save money that would be incurred on legal costs
- Your outcome is mutually agreed and private, unlike a court case
- Retain relationships for future working
- Confidential / without prejudice opportunity to reach settlement
What are Mediation, Conflict Coaching and Team Facilitation?
In mediation, the mediator helps two parties find an agreement about the way forward.
Mediation is the involvement of an impartial person who is trained to help resolve disputes. They can help you identify and discuss issues that need resolving, consider possible ways forward and reach a decision that feels fair to everyone involved. Typically, a mediation will complete with a written agreement for future interactions that feels supportive, clear and achievable for all.
Time involved:
• Initial separate meetings with parties: 1-2 hours each
• Mediation meeting: 1.5 hours to one day
Conflict coaching is a one-to-one intervention to help a person work through a specific challenge or problem.
Conflict coaching enables the coachee to talk about the conflict with a neutral third party (the conflict coach), consider options for managing the conflict, and design an approach to discuss the conflict with the other person.
Time involved: 2-6 coaching sessions of 1-2 hours
Dialogue Facilitation is an informal mix of mediated conversations and supportive 1:1 coaching.
Commissioning my mediation services:
You might like to read the template Agreement to Mediate form we use before the mediation meeting begins. We tailor this to the requirements of each case, but essentially it says that the parties agree that the mediator will facilitate a meeting, that all parties will observe strict confidentiality and that the mediation doesn’t affect anyone’s legal rights: Standard Agreement to Mediate form.
CONTACT ME to enquire as to whether mediation, team facilitation or conflict coaching might be helpful for you or someone else.