LEARNING TO BE A MEDIATOR

Mediation offers many opportunities for community service, as well as career development. To plan your training activity, you should decide if you are looking for a career change or a volunteer opportunity.

All mediation — volunteer or professional — requires structured, approved training.

You might choose one of many paths to mediation training, depending on your goals:

If you want to become a volunteer mediator, you’ll need to complete a mediation training course (either general civil or domestic) and a hands-on internship. General civil mediation training is offered by Community Mediation Services, as well as many of the other centers throughout Michigan.

If you want to be a court-approved mediator, you must complete either general civil mediation training or domestic mediation training, depending on the types of cases you wish to mediate.

You can learn about the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) requirements via the Michigan state website. You can also find a list of general civil and domestic mediation training classes through the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) or by clicking here. If you want to become a professional mediator, we suggest you explore career opportunities through an organization such as the Mediation Training and Consultation Institute.

VOLUNTEERING AS A MEDIATOR

All volunteer mediators for Community Mediation Services are required to take a mediation training course. Based upon your interests, you may choose general civil mediation or domestic mediation training. These courses are offered at Community Mediation Services, as well as many of the other centers across Michigan.

After you have successfully completed mediation training, you may submit an application to be a volunteer mediator. At that point, you will participate in actual mediations as part of a hands-on internship. After you have successfully completed both the course and internship, you will be eligible to mediate cases for our organization.

Community Mediation Services typically offers a general civil mediation training course every other year, rotating with the domestic mediation training. Please contact us if you’d like to be added to the waiting list for the next available class. The general civil mediation training is a 40 hour course and the domestic mediation training is 48 hour course.

If you would like to specialize in specific areas of advanced mediation, Community Mediation Services also offers courses in topics such as agricultural mediation, special education mediation, restorative practices, and more. Contact us to learn more about these advanced classes.

To remain active on our volunteer roster, we ask that you mediate a minimum of two cases per year.

All of our volunteers are also invited to attend free mediation workshops, which are usually offered quarterly. These sessions can enhance your skills and help you network with other mediators.

For information about mediation training opportunities throughout Michigan, visit the SCAO website.

Interested in joining our cause?

TRAINING

Domestic Mediator Training MCR 3.216

For Interested Volunteers in Northern Michigan

Gain the knowledge and skills to become a Domestic trained MEDIATOR. Help others resolve conflict personally and professionally. Learn and practice the mediation process:

How to listen effectively

How to ask the right kind of questions

How to deal with difficult behavior

How to help the parties get beyond impasse to achieve satisfying resolutions

Outstanding TRAINING.

This highly interactive training is tailored for mediators seeking to handle issues regarding divorces, parenting time, child custody, child support, spousal support, property and/or debt distribution and other family law matters. Training participants will receive substantive training and learn techniques in mediation skill building. Training methods include role plays, large and small group discussions, brief lectures and other exercises.

REDUCED NEW Volunteer Cost: $100.00

Included at this cost: Course materials, lunch and Training Certificate

Post-Training observation and co-mediation time is included and will be scheduled on an individual basis for all future volunteer mediators.

989-732-1576 or info@mimediation.com

Please Note: This training is a State Court Administrative Approved MCR 3.216 for Court Roster Mediators