DURATION
5 Days40 HoursCOST
$1,650DATES
December 9-13, 2024-CLASS IS FULL-WAITLIST ONLYThe Basic Mediation Skills class equips you with the essential skills of conflict resolution. Over five intensive days, you will understand the theory behind conflict and develop a mediator toolkit for effectively resolving disputes. The course has a special focus on areas important to government agencies and private enterprise, including EEO, workplace, and ADA. The course satisfies the educational requirements for registration in the state of Georgia as a neutral.
This is JCA’s most comprehensive, hands-on, and thorough course providing the foundation of conflict resolution theory and essential skills training for a general mediation practice in either public agency or private settings. Areas covered include workplace issues involving EEO claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; grievances covered under collective bargaining agreements; civil and criminal court case issues; and a myriad of other disputes arising in corporate, private and public settings. In this context the course provides an understanding of the mediation process; establishes and increases knowledge of the language of neutrality and the language of resolution; enhances communication and negotiation skills; and increases the abilities of participants in dealing with diversity issues. The course builds on itself step by step and is highly interactive and participatory between and among the class members and the instructors.
During the 5 days (40 hours), participants will see demonstrations of mediations and be involved in role-plays to test and hone their skills and understanding of the unique role of the mediator. During the course each participant will observe or be a part of 11 mediations followed by debriefings. The debriefing experiences provide specific, individual feedback in the role-plays and group feedback. The subject matter of these 11 cases ranges from discrimination and other workplace disputes to court referred matters. This scope of experience is designed to deepen the participant’s understanding of the broad application of mediation skills and process. Significant emphasis is placed on the ethical obligations and national standards mediators must accept in providing services in all settings.
Note
The course is very intense and requires homework each night. Attendance during the entire 40 hours is required to receive a certificate of completion – no exceptions.
All of our instructors are registered mediators with the Supreme Court of Georgia and have many years of experience not only in training but in mediating cases also. All instructors actively mediate for JCA and other entities.
Credentials
Participants completing the 40-hour course may apply for registration as a mediator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, the administrative supervisory arm of the Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Dispute Resolution. Residency in Georgia is not a pre-requisite to applying for and receiving registration status. Please go to www.godr.org for further information on registration. Also, feel free to call our registrar, Shawn O’Connor, for more details.
The fact that a training program has been approved by the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution does not impy that any particular court-annexed or court-referred program must or will accept as neutrals those who have completed that program. Each local court program is expected to exercise its discretion with reference to the qualifications of each neutral and may inquire into the training received by such neutral. Completion of a state-approved program does not automatically qualify one as a neutral in any particular local program.
Many states require 40 hours training in mediation theory and skills before allowing an individual to mediate. Check with your state’s supreme court or your federal/state agency to determine training and professional requirements and whether it would accept JCA’s 40-hour training as fulfilling the training obligations to become a mediator. The state of Virginia currently accepts JCA’s 40-hour course (28-hour Basic Mediation Skills training plus 12-hour practicum) to meet its training requirement; and, we believe, due to JCA’s long-established (over 30 years), outstanding national reputation in mediation training, there are many other entities that also accept this course as fulfilling their basic requirements. Check first to be sure before enrolling if a credential in your state or agency is a goal.
