June 24: Child Abuse Recognition and Response

Speaker: Jim Pope

CME: pending (ethics)

This program is designed for mandated reporters of child abuse such as mediators. It provides information on the new laws that have recently gone into effect.

This presentation includes:

• a description of various forms of child abuse
• information on where and how to report child abuse
• a discussion of the dynamics of child abuse allegations, specifically in the mediation context
• how to address child abuse allegations

Register Here!

About the speaker:

Jim Pope is an attorney and consultant in conflict management and other subjects related to workplace conflict, employee relations, civil disputes, child support and divorce, and special education. Pope is a certified Virginia Family Court mentor mediator at the Juvenile and Domestic Relations and Circuit Court Family levels. Pope holds a Doctorate of Jurisprudence (JD) from George Washington University Law School and a Masters of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University.

April 22: Building a Better Mediator: Enhanced Learning Through Giving and Receiving Feedback

Speakers: Tara B. Taylor and Toby Treem Guerin

CME: 1.5 CME General or Family

Being able to give and receive feedback is an important piece of developing a good reflective practice and improving as a practitioner. How do you accept feedback from others? How do you give feedback? Whether you're a novice or an experienced mediator, in private practice or working with an organization, mediating solo, co-mediating, or mentoring.  Attendees will get an introduction to various methods of feedback, how to maximize the impact of feedback statements while reducing the negative reactions they sometimes produce, and practice new feedback skills.  

March 25: Professional Development Group for Mediators

Facilitators: Jeannette Twomey and/or Jim Meditz

CME: 2 hours General or Family

Date & Time: March 25, 7-9pm (2 full hours, not 1.5)

Professional Development Groups present an opportunity for small groups of mediators to gather in a private, supportive setting to explore and discuss pivotal moments in their cases and reflect on the reasons behind the choice of a particular intervention. These highly interactive, facilitated discussions help mediators expand their knowledge of mediator techniques and theory and enhance reflective practice.

Prerequisite: Mediation experience.

Course Fee: $35 for non-NVMS mediators

REGISTER HERE!

February 25: First, Do No Harm (To Yourself): Mitigating Compassion Fatigue for Mediators

Speaker: Shayne Julius, Director of Operations at ADR Vantage

CME: 1.5 General or Family CME

Conflict is messy and often painful. The guiding principles of mediation such as neutrality, impartiality, and party self-determination can create a healthy distance from the conflict for the mediator - these are imperfect shields, however, and invariably some of the anxiety and stress can transfer to the mediator. This type of stress is an occupational hazard for practitioners leaving us vulnerable to compassion fatigue, secondary only to vicarious trauma and burnout. 

 

Participants will leave this interactive session with:

• an awareness of the symptoms and causes of compassion fatigue
• an understanding of self-care practices that help mitigate the effects of compassion stress and increase resilience 
• a framework for developing a self-care plan

Related Reading:

In his article Mediator Fatigue: The Traumatic Effect of What We Hear, Jonathan Reitman reflects on the impact compassion fatigue has on our effectiveness as interveners. Read the entire article here.

Relevant Materials & Tools:

Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL)

Talk about it on our blog, NVMS Talks.

January 28: Mentor Refresher Training

This presentation put together by the NVMS staff will talk about our experience in assisting future mediators with the mentorship process:

• The mindset of the mentees when they begin their apprenticeship
• How to attend to mentees while ensuring the parties are properly served
• Mentor's role as Gate-Keepers

When: Monday, January 28 

CME: 1.5 General

Speakers: Megan Johnston (Executive Director), Sherri Smith (Court Mediation Manager), Izabela Solosi (Training Program Manager), and Perrin Scanlon (ADR Program Manager)