Hi John
Thanks for sharing. I agree with your findings.
My articles in Pulse over the past 14 mths have been devoted to developing the mentor's mindset of how to be a mentor (rather than the process-focussed "how to mediate").
I have two trains of thought following my reading of your post.
1. The recent adoption of the autonomy of each mediatee empowers the mediator to move from impartiality to more actively support /foster the autonomy of a mediatee who is being overpowered by the other(s) mediatee. I have uploaded my recent article on this new pathway for mediators and mediatees. (see attached: "Impartiality paradox")
2. The recent article on TA is part of 6 articles that started with the mentors persona/presence and potential entrainment within a mediation (like a conductor). The next 4 articles focussed on overviews of common psycho-social modalities that could help a mediator recognise the mindsets and worldview of mediatees and respond appropiately. These articles simply outlined the concepts of NLP, Narrative therapy, emotional intelligence, TA and compassion . You may find more to reflect on within these articles.
I have uploaded the series (see attachment The Mediator as conductor complete").
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David Mitchell
Director
Mitchell Mediate
Clarence Park SA
418898039
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Original Message:
Sent: 30-06-2021 10:34 AM
From: John Cowen
Subject: The Mediator as Conductor Part 4
Thank you for your post David. Yes this behaviour is something I have observed in multiple family disputes particularly in the area of wills and estates. The challenge in working towards an agreement is the manipulative behaviour of a party and the feeling of failure on the other party which maybe a parent or grandparent along with that of sibling rivalry.
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John Cowen
Principal
JC Mediation
NEW FARM QLD
0413 654 632
Original Message:
Sent: 29-06-2021 01:31 PM
From: David Mitchell
Subject: The Mediator as Conductor Part 4
The mediator as conductor
Transactional Analysis
The fourth in the Mediator as Conductor series
David Mitchell
The concepts embodied in Transactional Analysis are useful tools (musical repertoire) for a mediator. A mediator does not get into the treatment side of TA, she merely uses the information she observes and experiences within a meditation from a TA mindset, to help her understand where each mediatee is coming from. In turn, this process can mediate the mediator's thinking, language (verbal and non-verbal) and demeanor.
In the 1950's, Eric Berne, a US Army psychiatrist treating Post World War 11 and Korean veterans suffering what nowadays would be called Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), found Freudian psychiatry was time-consuming, ineffective, and poorly understood by the average patient. Berne was an excellent listener, a compassionate doctor and a practical thinker. He developed a simple to teach and understand psychoanalysis therapy he called Transactional Analysis[1].
[1] Eric Berne,(1958). Transactional Analysis: A New and Effective Method of Group Therapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 12(4), 735–743. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1958.12.4.735
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David Mitchell
Director
Mitchell Mediate
Clarence Park SA
418898039
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