Ah, the issue of certification in mediation. After years of stagnation as people questioned the ethics of using the word “certified” or “certification” to designate an ADR training or course, there is a growing throng of companies, educational institutions, and state judicial systems doing just that…certifying students. Some claim the original questioning often came from people who were stuck in the past or trying to hold the field back. Yet, there were very valid concerns broached about the issue, some of which are still strongly debated. I come to this debate, not as a professional or practicing mediator, but as an instructional designer and business owner who co-created the first of its kind online graduate certificate in mediation and ADR. I have watched the debate over certification with mixtures of amazement, amusement, and concern as I watch people struggle to create rules in the wild west of certification. These musing, then, are completely my own from my safe perch outside the practice of mediation, yet deeply involved in the education of practitioners. I invite all of you to comment on to this lively debate and add your insights and perspectives to this musing.
Herding Cats: The Movement for National and State Certification Requirements.
There are those who caution that organizing national or local certifying entities is akin to herding cats. This is not to say this movement will fail, or that it is not worthy to pursue. When Mediators without Borders began offering Mediation Certificate Courses in 2004, we lamented the lack of uniform training requirements. We also recognized it was a double edged sword. The lack of regulation meant that this “profession” was truly inclusive of anyone who had the desire to work for peaceful resolution of conflict, regardless of how many years of formal education they possessed. For many years, MwB tried to offer students an overview of requirements to practice mediation from state to state. It was a Sisyphean endeavor as requirements would not only vary in each of the 50 states but sometimes within jurisdictions within a state. We finally decided to direct students to consult the jurisdiction within which they were planning to practice to ensure our training and graduate courses complied with any existing regulations. However, in a mobile society such as ours, how can professionals be sure their training will be accepted in other areas?
Who are we trying to protect and who will pay the cost of that protection?
The most important question to ask when imposing any regulation or regulating body from the outside is, “To what end?” What is the ultimate goal of regulating the training and practice of mediators. Is it to protect the consumer? Is it to protect those who seek out training in the uneven and varied landscape of ADR education? Is it to establish a body that regulates ADR professionals’ practice and qualifications and creates a national uniform standard? Answer yes to any one of these questions, and the solution may take you in a completely different direction and result in a different list of unintended consequences.
I come to this debate having witnessed a similar one taking place for therapists in the state of Colorado almost two decades ago. The premise of the argument at the time was to protect the consumer by establishing the licensing of mental health professionals. Yet, what to do with those who did not have the necessary graduate degree, yet had successful practices for many years? The decision was a voluntary system whereby those of us who qualified for, and desired to have a formal license could take a rigorous test and adhere to the policies of a regulating agency. Those who decided to opt out or did not have the requisite education were bunched into a group called “unlicensed psychotherapists.” It is a “buyers beware” kind of solution but one with a caveat. For buyers should also be aware that many studies have shown that education and therapeutic style have little relationship to efficacy. I wonder if studies of efficacy in mediation and ADR will bear similar results?
Regardless of why regulation is proposed, it is critical that there be a sustainable regulating body. In a time of budget cuts, this may be the issue that decides the fate of credentialing or national certification. A spiritual teacher once remarked that societies and people who seek to control events or others by passing more and more laws and building bigger prisons may “inevitably collapse under the economic weight of the measures they must take in order to maintain this control.” We can see evidence of this not only in the collapse of the repressive regimes in the middle east, but in the slower crumbling of welfare states whose well intentioned and heartfelt policies were not created with an eye toward long term sustainability.
Do we need more regulation or better training and support?
Many years ago, I was grappling with a personal issue that I could just not sort out. I remember my brother suggesting I take a notebook out to the mountains and ask myself one question, “What do I really want?” The trick to the exercise was to keep asking that question each time an answer came. After about an hour, I was stunned to find what I really wanted was vastly different from what I imagined. The executive team and advisors at MwB began a similar quest in regards to the issue of certification. As we explored the options to certify or not to certify, the conversation inevitably came down to our students.
Mediators without Borders created Mediation Certificate Courses to fill what we envisioned as a void in the training field. We wanted to create a comprehensive education, that included the 40 hour mediation certificate course but expanded that through advanced study and support. We wanted to have a place for our students to return once they applied the skills learned in our mediation courses to the real world. We wanted to be around for the long haul and establish a brand that would tell the consumer that this mediator went well beyond the national standards for training into a highly comprehensive professional program of study. We eventually decided to back this up by offering our students designation as Mediators without Borders Certified Mediator, Mediators without Borders Certified Arbitrator, and Mediators without Borders Certified ADR Specialist.
What does it mean to be Mediators without Borders Certified?
Mediators without Borders certification of a student means we verify this individual has taken a comprehensive program of study that must include a 60 hour customized and supervised internship. The internship was created to service to needs: 1) to offer students a venue to gain experience in role plays and real life mediations under the guidance of a seasoned professional; and 2) to ensure that each person understands not only the theory and skills underlying the practice but how to apply them to cases, real and simulated. Students, who have taken an equivalent course to the Mediators without Borders 40 hour Mediation certificate course from an approved program, may take the internship for designation as an MwB Certified Mediator.
A description of this internship can be found at the following link: http://www.mediatorswithoutborders.com/education/classes/mediation-internship-and-career-development-certificate/
As an MwB Certified Mediator, you must complete a 40 hour Mediation training either online or onsite plus the 60 hour internship.
As a Mediators without Borders Certified Arbitrator, you must complete our 24 hour arbitration training online or onsite and our 60 hour Arbitration internship.
If you want to add two additional 24 hour courses to the Certified Mediator training, you can earn the added designation of Mediators without Borders Certified ADR Specialist.
So what do you think about the wild, wild west of certification? Please add your voice to this ongoing discussion!
