Administrative Login

Course and Faculty Descriptions



The Transformative Approach to Mediation: Basic Skills and Elder Mediation

Basic Skills
May 18-20, 2009, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $400
Two-day training with Winnie Backlund, Jody Miller and Baruch Bush
(Take separately as an introductory course, or in combination with the Elder Mediation course)

Conflict is inevitable, but how to deal with conflict is a matter of choice. Transformative mediation offers people the choice to address their conflict in a way that fully respects their dignity and humanity. This highly interactive course is the most up-to-date, distinctive and innovative training on the transformative approach to mediation. Trainees will gain an understanding of the theory and basic skills necessary for the practice of transformative mediation:

  • A grounding in transformative conflict theory and the concepts of empowerment and recognition
  • An understanding of the connection between mediator motivations and interventions
  • The understanding and skills needed to practice non-directive interventions that respect the participants' competence and decency
  • The capacity to take a responsive rather than directive role in intervention
Recommended for individuals and professionals who want to enhance their conflict intervention skills in their personal life, organizations, business or community, by learning the theory and skills of transformative mediation.

Applying the Approach to Elder Mediation
May 20-22, 2009, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $500 (in addition to Basic Skills fee)
Three-day advanced training with Winnie Backlund and Jody Miller
(Registrants attend the Basic Skills course and then continue with the elder mediation training, for a total of five days)

Elder Mediation

As people age, individuals and families are faced with many difficult decisions and, too often, conflict. Mediation can play a critical role in bringing older adults together with their family members, care givers and healthcare and social service providers to have important conversations. This course will prepare participants to practice Transformative Mediation in a way that responds to the needs of those present and respects each person's decision-making capacity as they face critical times of transition. The interactive format will include lecture, discussion and role plays. Topics will include:

  • Why elder mediation as a specialty
  • Conflicts associated with aging
  • Special practice issues, including capacity and accommodations
  • Ethical considerations
For individuals who want to begin to practice the emerging specialty of Elder Mediation from a transformative approach - including lawyers, social workers, mental health professionals and professionals working in the field of gerontology. (Law students welcome in this and other courses, without law school credit, for fees as stated above. If law students wish to take this course for law school credit - as a 2 credit course - the fee is $1,320 per credit.)


Rethinking Conflict: Popular Culture and the Relational Orientation to Conflict
May 19-20, 2009, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $450
Master Class with Joseph Folger and Baruch Bush - "founders" of the transformative theory

Surprisingly, our popular culture is rich with vivid depictions of relational, transformative approaches to human difference and conflict. Although negative images may dominate, transformative depictions of conflict are also found in popular film, television and literature - and they find an enthusiastic audience. They reflect a societal urge to move beyond self-centered, individualistic ways of thinking about and approaching conflict. This seminar will explore the transformative dimensions of our cultural imagery of conflict. We will examine portrayals of transformative conflict in film and other media, and reflect on how our personal mindsets about conflict resonate with these cultural messages:

  • What do depictions in popular film and media tell us about how people want to and can respond to conflict?
  • How is the balance between strength of self and connection to others conveyed when conflict is portrayed relationally?
  • Can greater awareness of the transformative imagery in popular culture support a relational vision of conflict in society, in mediation practice, and in our daily lives?

While this course obviously has a broader focus than mediation per se, it was developed with conflict interveners in mind. It will provide interveners with a powerful method to anchor their practice in the relational worldview, by heightening their clarity about what empowerment and recognition shifts look like, and what powerful impacts these shifts can have. This increased clarity will help in both marketing and practicing effective transformative intervention.

Recommended for all conflict intervention professionals, and for anyone who wants to examine their own assumptions about conflict in their personal or professional life, in the context of our society and culture.


Facilitating Groups: Choices, Strategies and Tools that Enhance Participation and Support Success
May 21-22, 2009, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. $400
Two-day workshop with Judith Saul and Scott Sears

Facilitators support groups in critical matters such as organizational planning, citizen engagement in governance, and internal deliberations within corporations, non-profits & educational institutions. The choices facilitators make as they guide these processes profoundly affect a group's ability to enhance participation, manage diverse perspectives, improve decision-making, and assure implementation.

This workshop introduces a framework that enables facilitators to practice with clarity of intention and purpose. Participants learn methods for structuring interactions so that groups of all sizes, from 10 to 100, can effectively participate in a range of planning and decision-making activities. Through the use of tools and techniques that are embedded in the training's structure, participants have the opportunity to "learn by doing" during this experiential, fast-paced workshop.

This workshop is recommended for:

  • Mediators interested in expanding their work to groups
  • Municipal staff responsible for interfacing with the public
  • Organizational leaders committed to involving constituencies, staff, and Board members in decision making
  • All others who want to deepen their abilities to productively and creatively guide group deliberations
Panel: The Changing Face of Mediation Ethics
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. $50.00 admission
Open to the Community (CLE Credit Available)

A Panel Discussion, featuring
Daniel Weitz, State ADR Coordinator, New York State Unified Court System
Andrew Schepard, Professor of Law, Hofstra Law School
Judith Saul, Executive Director, Community Dispute Resolution Center (Ithaca, NY)
Baruch Bush, Professor of Law, Hofstra Law School
Moderator: Julie Denny, President, Assoc. for Conflict Resolution of Greater NY

In the past several years, codes of ethics for mediators have been adopted in many states, including model codes and codes adopted by mediators' associations and other groups. At the same time that adoption of ethics standards has spread, the basic conceptions that underlie principles of mediator ethics have been evolving - indeed, changing in some quite fundamental ways. This panel will bring together four individuals who are well-known in the mediation field, in New York and beyond, and who have all made important contributions to the development of mediation ethics. The panelists will offer their views of the changes that have emerged, the likely impact of these changes on what is considered good mediation practice, and the likely course of continued evolution in mediation ethics in coming years.



Summer Institute Faculty:

Robert A. Baruch Bush, J.D. and Joseph P. Folger, Ph.D. are the originators of the transformative approach to mediation, as explained in their best-selling book, The Promise of Mediation (1994, 2d ed. 2005), which has been called one of the most influential works on mediation in the last decade. They are regularly featured as lecturers and trainers at conferences, seminars and workshops around the world. They are now editing a new book called Transformative Mediation: A Sourcebook for Mediators, Lawyers and the Courts (ABA Section on Dispute Resolution, forthcoming 2009).

Bush is the Rains Distinguished Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School, where he teaches courses on mediation, ADR, and other subjects. He has practiced, taught and written about mediation for over 30 years, and has authored over two dozen books, articles and chapters on mediation and ADR. He is Co-Founder and President of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT).

Folger is Professor of Adult and Organizational Development at Temple University, and Senior Associate with Communications Research Associates, Inc. His text on conflict theory and research, Working Through Conflict (6th ed. 2008), is used in universities across the country, and he is editor and author of many other books and articles on conflict and intervention. He is Co-Founder and Vice-President of ISCT.

Scott Sears, M.A., is the Principal of Sears Associates and an Associate of Global Dialogue, Inc. Since 1992 his consulting work has focused on organizational development, participative group learning, public involvement, and conflict engagement, and he has experience ranging from interpersonal mediation to full-scale governmental agency development. Sears holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution from Antioch University.


Judith A. Saul is the Executive Director and founder of Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC), Inc., Ithaca, NY, which provides mediation, facilitation and training services for three counties. She has over two decades of experience mediating interpersonal disputes and facilitating multi-party, environmental and public participation processes. She is a certified trainer for the ADR Office of New York's Court System and is on the roster of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. Ms. Saul is a Fellow and Board member of ISCT.

Winnie Backlund is the Director of Mediation and Training at Montgomery County Mediation Center (MCMC), Eagleville, PA, and has over twenty years of experience as a mediator and trainer. MCMC has been a pioneer in the development and practice of Elder Mediation. Along with the Institute of the Study of Conflict Resolution and Temple University's Beasley School of Law, MCMC organized and sponsored the First National Symposium on Ethical Standards for Elder Mediation held April 19-20, 2007 in Philadelphia. Winnie is a Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation.

Jody B. Miller is the Executive Director of the Mediation Center of Dutchess County (Poughkeepsie, New York). A mediator and trainer with nineteen years experience, she has mediated for families, community groups, divorcing couples, victims and offenders, and numerous organiztions. Jody is a certified mediation trainer through the ADR office of New York State Unified Court System and an appointed member of the New York State Unified Court System Mediation Ethics Advisory Committee. She is a co-author of the article, "Honoring the Victim's Voice: The Domestic Violence and Mediation Safety Project," ACResolution, Summer, 2005.