Certified Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist
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Course Description
This online Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate (ADR) program is offered in partnership with IADR® GLOBAL. Dispute Resolution is a rapidly growing field of study and a process commonly used in federal and local government agencies, corporations, non-profit and for profit agencies as well as in private ADR practices. This online training program will give you the educational background you need to break into this fast-growing field. The three course program of study offers a highly comprehensive conflict resolution education that can help you advance in your present job, add a sought after skill to your resume, or help you set up a private practice as an alternative dispute resolution specialist.
AND, when you complete your course you receive a complimentary one year membership to the Mediators Without Borders® International Association for Mediators and ADR Specialists. This association provides you with networking opportunities, consultations from our experienced faculty, professional insurance, and discounts on International Mediators Without Borders conferences and continuing education seminars.
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a formal process of negotiation which uses a third-party neutral who provides a framework for disputants to resolve their conflict. The mediator establishes the ground rules for the process, recognizes the needs and wants of each party and plays a pivotal role by assisting the people involved to focus on the real issues underlying the positions of the dispute. Through the use of specific skills, the mediator is able to assist in the settlement of disagreements among conflicted parties, even in cases where deep rooted tensions have not responded to initial attempts at negotiation. The required foundational CORE Mediation Certificate course will provide you with a comprehensive set of mediation skills.
Why is it called Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate?
The word Alternative refers to the methods of dispute resolution that are used as alternatives to litigation. Mediation is just one skill set of the much broader field of dispute resolution. This field is becoming increasingly specialized and requires more focused training on the various specializations. An ADR Certificate includes not only mediation certificate training but, depending on the two specialty courses you choose, can provide you with training in arbitration and ombuds, workplace dispute resolution systems, health and eldercare dispute resolution, divorce mediation and resolution, and construction mediation.
The ADR program of study begins with the foundational course, CORE Mediation Certificate, and then allows students to choose two additional specialty options from among 6 possible advanced courses. When you successfully complete a course, you will receive a certificate for that individual course. Additionally, upon completion of the three course program, you will receive an additional Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate.
- Divorce Mediation Certificate
- Workplace Mediation Certificate
- Arbitration Certificate
- Health and Eldercare Mediation Certificate
- Advanced Dispute Resolution Skills Certificate
- Construction Mediation Certificate
Each course is described briefly below:
CORE Mediation Certificate (Required)
The Core Mediation course provides the core skill sets necessary to begin a new career as a mediator and help disputants take charge of their own destiny. The course presents an overview of the mediation process, including the application of negotiation techniques, the critical issue of timing, the usage of caucuses, as well as other tools to deal with impasses in the process. Students will also become adept at communication by learning essential communication skills, such as reflective listening and the handling of critical moments in mediation.
Students will select 2 courses from the following:
Divorce and Parenting Time Mediation Certificate
Divorce mediation is perhaps the fastest growing field within the mediation profession. More separating couples are being directed to mediation than ever before, which is why the demand for mediators specifically trained in this area is strong. Students will get an overview of the field of family dispute resolution followed by an exploration of family systems theory and development. The course will present legal and financial concerns of divorce, including how to work with attorneys and how to help couples with asset division. Special issues such as domestic violence, mental health concerns, and child abuse are also covered. The course will also discuss the issues concerning children, including how divorce affects kids, how to negotiate parenting plans, and how to actually work with children and teens in mediation. Mediation skills specific to divorce mediation and an overview of non-divorce cases such as lesbian and gay relationship dissolutions, pre-nuptials, teen parent issues, and grandparents in mediation, conclude this course.
Workplace Mediation Certificate
The high costs of workplace conflict are driving companies and regulatory agencies such as the EEOC to use mediation and other conflict resolution practices in the workplace, making workplace conflict resolution and mediation an emerging specialty within the field. This course builds on the core mediation course and provides an overview of workplace dispute resolution including an overview of conflict management systems in the workplace, conflict and communication in the workplace, and the influence of culture on conflict. As organizations have dealt with the costs of conflict such as the loss of productivity, low morale possibly leading to turnover, and litigation costs, processes and systems have been developed to reduce these costs. For the purposes of this course, you will learn to be a “conflict manager” in your place of employment and add this skill to your resume.
This course begins with an overview of workplace conflict and the costs involved for companies, tips on how to handle difficult workplace behavior and a summary of informal and formal arbitration practices in the workplace. The more common workplace mediation issues of civil rights, sexual harassment, and disability disputes will be presented, as well as special issues such as power and emotions along with cross-cultural and multi-party cases. The course offers a presentation of the emerging concepts of appreciative inquiry and its application to workplace disputes. It concludes with an overview of implementing a workplace conflict management system, which includes proactive measures such as conflict management training for all employees as well as reactive measures in which trained internal and external professionals assist constituents of the organization to manage and resolve conflict.
Health and Eldercare Mediation Certificate
Due to advances in medicine, heightened attention to diet, and desire to maintain an active lifestyle, people are now living longer than ever. Consequently, more people are availing themselves of medical services, and that care may provide a source of conflict, which is why health and edlercare mediation is increasingly necessary in lieu of litigation. This course builds on the core mediation skills and provides an overview of health and eldercare dispute resolution including an overview of conflict in healthcare settings, heath and eldercare bioethical issues, and the unique features of family conflicts and patient-healthcare provider conflicts.
The course begins with an overview of the growth of dispute resolution in the healthcare and eldercare field and most common health and eldercare disputes. Special issues such as end of life conflicts, medical errors and the use of apology, and cultural issues in health and eldercare conflict will be covered as well. The course discusses interdisciplinary collaboration with physicians, nurses, administrators, attorneys and others involved in health and eldercare disputes. The course concludes with the growing field of bioethics and how mediation can effectively help deal with ethical concerns in health and eldercare.
Construction Mediation Certificate
Construction mediation and dispute resolution is an emerging specialization within the ADR field. The high costs of litigation in construction are driving companies and consumers to use alternatives such as mediation and other conflict resolution practices to resolve disputes. Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution techniques are poised to become the premier methods of dispute resolution used around the globe. This emergence is due, in part, to the lower costs associated with these resolution techniques when compared to more traditional dispute resolution alternatives such as litigation and arbitration.
This course is meant to offer students a fundamental understanding of the many attributes, players, and special concerns associated with construction mediation. Construction mediation offers a unique advantage to mediators. Unlike other industries, a great deal of effort and research has been devoted to dispute prevention techniques as well as dispute resolution interventions once the conflict has emerged. This affords practitioners two entry points into this growing field - as a mediator for an emergent conflict and as a consultant for companies desiring to be proactive in their dispute resolution prevention. This course is designed to offer students a background in successful mediation processes and an overview of some of the innovative prevention and dispute avoidance systems that are being employed in this industry.
Arbitration Certificate
In many western jurisdictions and in places around the globe, most individuals are free to arbitrate a dispute. In fact, anytime a manager or parent or other authority figure renders a decision in a dispute, they are informally arbitrating the conflict. This course teaches the formal arbitration process, which is a distinct form of dispute resolution wherein a third party renders an award to disputing parties much like a judge. This class covers the history of arbitration and the most common applications, the discovery process, and pre-arbitration planning including interviews and documentation. Students will learn about the actual hearing process, how to conduct fair and impartial presentations of evidence, and how to work with attorneys present in the process. The course concludes with lectures on analysis of evidence, rendering of the award, and the actual writing of an arbitration agreement. Case studies will be used extensively to illustrate concepts central to arbitration.
Advanced Dispute Resolution Skills Certificate
This course was created to help both long time mediators, and beginning practitioners, deepen their personal and professional understanding and application of dispute resolution skills. The course is organized to offer advanced concepts of theoretical orientations, models and approaches, and advanced techniques to apply to cases. Each phase includes case studies to help apply the knowledge from the presentations and readings to selected situations. The field of mediation is experiencing a period of intense growth and there is a need for the next generation of “pioneers” to make their mark in this profession. The original foundation has long been ready for the next building phase and mediators with creativity, passion, and innovation can become the next wave of researchers, theorists, and creative innovators of new approaches and models of analysis and intervention.
Mediators must not only understand the substantive processes of their work, but the theories that inform their interventions and approaches to each unique case. This course covers reflective practice as a means to develop from student to artistry. This includes the process of creating formulas based on theoretical perspectives and a thorough conflict analysis of each case. The practice of mediation is ultimately focused on the interactions between the disputants and between the disputants and the mediator. The course covers more advanced skill sets of reflective listening and assertion communication as well as key elements and interventions of the interactive processes in mediation. Students learn more advanced skill sets to deal with difficult clients. The course concludes with case study applications of the knowledge learned in the course.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the Mediation and Dispute Resolution program, students will:
- Understand the principles and theory of conflict resolution.
- Evaluate their current strengths and challenges in resolving conflict.
- Identify the principles of interest based negotiation and apply to case studies.
- Articulate and apply advanced communication skills such as reframing and nonviolent communication.
- Articulate significance of neutrality and impartiality in mediation.
- Examine and apply the facilitative process of mediation.
- Identify the impacts of cultural, gender, and ethnic differences upon conflict resolution.
- Articulate and apply ethical standards for practice.
- Identify and apply the specific knowledge necessary for advanced mediation practice in specialties such as Workplace Mediation, Health and Eldercare Mediation, Construction and Real Estate Mediation, Divorce and Child Custody Mediation, and Arbitration.
This online Certified Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist (ADR) program will help you learn the methods of dispute or conflict resolution that are used as alternatives to litigation. Offered in partnership with Mediators without Borders®, this three-course program delivers a highly comprehensive conflict resolution education that will help you advance in your present job, add a sought-after skill to your resume, or set up a private practice as a mediation dispute resolution specialist. Also included is a 60-hour online internship that lets you practice with simulated cases. These cases are presented in weekly practice sessions where you can call a toll free number and participate as an observer, disputant, or mediator.
Alternative Dispute Resolution encompasses mediation and practice in a growing number of specialty fields, such as Construction or Eldercare Mediation. We've designed this program to include the Certified Mediator training as the required foundation course. Then you'll select two specialty courses to complement your mediator training. Please see the specialty course options below.
Core Curriculum: Certified Mediator Course
Your Selection of Two Specialty Courses:
- Divorce and Parenting Time Mediation Certificate
- Workplace Mediation & ADR Certificate
- Arbitration Certificate
- Eldercare/Probate Mediation & ADR Certificate
- Advanced Dispute Resolution Certificate
- Construction Mediation & ADR Certificate
- Restorative Justice Certificate
Upon completion of the the mediator training and your two specialty courses, you'll be eligible to become a Certified Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist through Mediators without Borders®.
While you're in this program, you'll also have access to a variety of services in the Mediators without Borders® Professional Society with the option to join this society as a paid member when your studies are complete. The Mediators without Borders® Society provides you with networking opportunities, consultations from our experienced faculty, professional insurance, and discounts on International Mediators Without Borders conferences and continuing education seminars.
Upon successful completion of this program, you’ll:
- Understand the principles and theory of conflict resolution
- Evaluate your current strengths and challenges in resolving conflict
- Identify the principles of interest-based negotiation and apply them to case studies
- Articulate and apply advanced communication skills, such as reframing and nonviolent communication
- Articulate significance of neutrality and impartiality in mediation
- Examine and apply the facilitative process of mediation
- Identify the impacts of cultural, gender, and ethnic differences on conflict resolution
- Articulate and apply ethical standards for practice
- Identify and apply the specific knowledge necessary for advanced mediation practice in specialties such as Workplace Mediation, Eldercare/Probate Mediation, Construction Mediation, Divorce and Parenting Time Mediation, Arbitration, and Restorative Justice.
Course Outline
You'll take three courses for this certificate, beginning with the Certified Mediator course and then selecting two specialty courses. You'll also be able to complete a 60-hour online internship.
- Certified Mediator Course
- Module One: Mediation and Advanced Dispute Resolution
- Module Two: Conflict Styles
- Module Three: Pre-Negotiation and Designing Mediation
- Module Four: Communication Skills for Mediation
- Module Five: Beginning the Mediation
- Module Six: Mediator Neutrality and Issues of Power, Gender, and Culture
- Module Seven: The Middle Stage of Mediation
- Module Eight: Mediation Ethics, Final Bargaining and Agreement
Specialty Programs (you'll choose two courses from the following):
- DIVORCE & PARENTING TIME MEDIATION CERTIFICATE
- Module One: Mediation and Advanced Dispute Resolution
- Module Two: Family Dynamics and Conflict
- Module Three: The Family Mediation Process
- Module Four: Mediating Parenting Plans
- Module Five: Asset Division and Negotiation
- Module Six: Working with Children in Mediation
- Module Seven: Special Issues
- Module Eight: Legal Processes and Standards of Practice
- WORKPLACE MEDIATION & ADR CERTIFICATE
- Module One: ADR and Workplace Conflict
- Module Two: Diagnosing Workplace Conflict
- Module Three: Overview of ADR Skills
- Module Four: Law and Workplace ADR
- Module Five: ADR and Workplace Discrimination
- Module Six: Difficult People and Workplace Violence
- Module Seven: Power and Culture
- Module Eight: The Future of Workplace ADR
- ELDERCARE/ PROBATE MEDIATION & ADR CERTIFICATE
- Module One: The Growing Field of Eldercare Mediation
- Module Two: Issues of Aging
- Module Three: Family Mediation Skills for Eldercare
- Module Four: The Bioethics Mediation Process
- Module Five: Mediating within Eldercare Provider Systems
- Module Six: Probate and Trust Mediation
- Module Seven: Adult Guardianship and Family Caregiver Mediation
- Module Eight: Special Issues
- CONSTRUCTION MEDIATION & ADR CERTIFICATE
- Module One: Conflict and the Construction Industry
- Module Two: Dispute Prevention in Construction
- Module Three: Construction Contracts
- Module Four: Litigation, Arbitration, & Dispute Resolution Boards
- Module Five: Construction Mediation
- Module Six: Partnering
- Module Seven: Multi-Party and Complex Disputes
- Module Eight: The Use of Experts and Ethical Considerations
- ARBITRATION CERTIFICATE
- Module One: An Overview of Arbitration
- Module Two: Legal and Ethical Issues of Arbitration
- Module Three: Pre-Hearing Procedures
- Module Four: The Arbitration Opening
- Module Five: The Arbitration Hearing Process
- Module Six: Directing the Arbitration Process
- Module Seven: Closing the Arbitration Hearing
- Module Eight: Writing Awards and Enforcement
- ADVANCED DISPUTE RESOLUTION CERTIFICATE
- Module One: Reflective Practice
- Module Two: The Making of a Mediator
- Module Three: Components of Self-Care
- Module Four: Formulation & Theoretical Basis
- Module Five: Advanced ADR Techniques and Models I
- Module Six: Advanced ADR Techniques and Models II
- Module Seven: Advanced ADR Techniques and Models III
- Module Eight: Advanced ADR Techniques and Models IV
- RESTORATIVE JUSTICE CERTIFICATE
- Module One: An Overview of Restorative Justice
- Module Two: Theories of Restorative Justice
- Module Three: Models of Restorative Justice
- Module Four: Social Systems & Restorative Justice
- Module Five: International Restorative Justice
- Module Six: Current Trends in Restorative Justice
- Module Seven: Practice and Practitioner Issues
- Module Eight: Show to Start a Restorative Justice Program
More Information
| Language | English |
| Course Length | 240.00 hours |
| Duration of Access | 6 months |
| Instructor | Rebecca Daniels, MA; Holly Panetta, J.D.; Shauna Ries, LCSW, MFT, MDR; Anne Robbins-Cohen, MA; James (Jim) Siefken, MA |
| Vendor | Gatlin Education |
| Prerequisites/Audience | There are no specific educational prerequisites for the ADR Program. However, you should have basic computer skills and be comfortable navigating the Internet and using e-mail. |
| Requirements/Materials Included | The following textbook(s) are provided with this program: The textbooks from two of the following programs. These selections depend on the programs you choose: |