Detailed assessment of basic mediation training and subsequent further training

How can a conflict be resolved? Let's assume we are dealing with a serious dispute between two colleagues at an advertising agency that is gradually poisoning the working atmosphere. On the recommendation of a colleague, both agree to mediation, with you as the mediator.

In my law degree programme, I learn to assess conflicts from a legal perspective. To do this, I apply an abstract legal text to a specific situation. In the case at hand, depending on what exactly happened, I first consider labour law regulations. In an expert opinion, I then examine, for example, whether the employer is entitled to an extraordinary right of termination. In this way, I reduce the conflict to legal issues. The result is a binary categorisation of right and wrong.

As a mediator, you do not make this division. Instead, you help the colleagues to talk to each other constructively again. To do this, you take the tension out of their communication and help the disputants to clear their heads again. Your aim is for colleagues to decide for themselves "What do I actually want?". A self-determined solution to a conflict is generally more sustainable than a predetermined decision. A mediator therefore does not prescribe a solution, but is merely a catalyst that breaks up the conflict.

In the basic training course offered free of charge by Martin Luther University, you will learn the basics of mediation over several seminar days. This includes, for example, asking open and circular questions, mirroring the behaviour of others, intervening correctly and learning what constitutes a conflict. You will also learn about the phase model of mediation and its legal foundations. The theory is repeatedly discussed in small groups and practised in role plays. These practical exercises are particularly fun and allow you to get to know your fellow students better. At the end of the course, you will write a seminar paper that is related to mediation and, if it is legally relevant, can be recognised as a seminar certificate for your specialisation.

If, like me, you are interested in the topic of mediation and would like to call yourself a certified mediator, Sascha, an experienced mediator and extremely pleasant teacher who runs the seminars as the owner of Inkovema, offers a subsequent further training course in Leipzig. In this course, the theoretical and practical basics of mediation are further deepened and, above all, consolidated by means of longer role plays that simulate entire mediation processes. This part in particular is a lot of fun. Over a total of five days, spread over two modules, you can expect instructive units that encourage self-reflection and shed light on topics such as the manipulative roles of the drama triangle and counselling passive problem bearers.

If you are interested in the topic of mediation after reading my explanations, I can only warmly recommend the basic mediation training and the subsequent further training to become a certified mediator. After taking part, you will be able to deal with the tangible conflict between colleagues in the advertising agency and other conflicts as a mediator. The application of the law that I learnt during my studies gives me confidence, but prevented me from further developing my understanding of conflict until I trained as a certified mediator. Perhaps the first step towards improvement for you too is to take part in the basic mediation training programme.