Book Now

Use this confidential form to let us know your hopes and goals for your work with us, as well as your preferences. Then we’ll follow up personally to discuss your options, help you get matched with the therapist best suited for you, and assist you in scheduling your first 15 minute complementary meeting by phone or video chat.

  • Address

    PO Box 40 Shawnigan Lake, BC Canada V0R2W0

  • Email Us

    positivecounselors@gmail.com

Online Mediation & Conflict Resolution

Mediation is a consensual dispute resolution option often complementary to counseling and an alternative to arbitration and litigation.
Mediation is helpful in family matters, in schools, business, and organizations facing an ever-increasing diversity of cultures, beliefs and personalities and who wish to find an acceptable and positive resolution to everyone’s concerns. This is practiced by professional mediators, lawyers, and counselors. When a therapist is also providing mediation, it can be very helpful in many situations. For example, when couples are considering separation or divorce and when looking for a non-adversarial resolution as compared to only using legal representation. The advantage of having a therapist act as a mediator is that all parties will have developed trust in the knowledge of the issues. For example, regarding the children, which is essential for such mediation work. However, it is also a challenge for the therapist to appear as impartial or neutral unless all parties have agreed on this role. If the counselor does not feel the right conditions exist for this perception of impartiality, they can consider a different professional to act as mediator.
The role and style of a therapist and a mediator are different even if at times overlapping. For example, looking for mutually acceptable ways to divide property or arrangements for co parenting of the children is different from helping each party make the needed personal transitions. Mediation is often used in addition to having legal representation for such reasons.
Mediation in the process of divorce helps the couple to have a more amicable outcome even if attorneys are involved. Mediators can help formulate the agreements and avoid costly, lengthy, and acrimonious litigation. Mediation is also effective when dealing with family matters or during the marriage to resolve conflicts that could put at risk the relationship or create disunity in the family.
Conflict resolution therapy is an alternative from an authoritarian model to a consultative way to resolve disputes and conflicts. We can view conflicts as an opportunity for growth and learning with a “win-win” for all parties rather than a winner-looser outcome. This depends on how the conflict is handled. Such conflicts are common and arise in families, in the workplace, in all organizations and situations. Some studies find that company executives spend up to 25% of their time dealing with interpersonal conflict. The same is true in the schools and other organizations.
To facilitate a positive process, it is necessary to have a skilled facilitator and a therapist trained in this area can be very helpful when accepted by the contending parties. Among the benefits of such a process are the acceptance of the outcome, learning to listen and understand the views of the different parties, and avoid the mental health issues such as anger, anxiety, stress, contempt, and depression often arising from the mishandling of conflicts.
A positive handling of conflict can help those involved acquire problem solving skills, self-confidence, positive attitudes, active listening, self-control, capacity to understand, building rapport and having greater empathy, resilience, interpersonal skills, productivity at work or in academics. As opposed to an adversarial process where one party is forced to submit or to withdraw, feeling the outcome has been unjust and to do all they can to undermine the outcome, resulting in escalation of the conflict in the future.
Book Your Free Consult Today