ACR-GNY promotes learning and dialogue within the ADR community. This virtual Family & Community Mediation Practice Group has been meeting regularly since 2019 from 6:00 - 7:15pm on Zoom. The Practice Group is a confidential space where mediators can come together to share puzzling or challenging moments and give one another honest feedback. Practice Groups are now open to the public, and ACR-GNY members attend for free!
The Benefits of Reflective Practice Groups for Skilled and New Mediators
When facing a puzzling practice dilemma, the advice of well-intentioned peers may ring hollow because they were not in the room and cannot fully understand the dynamics. Imagine a practice group that allows you to puzzle through your actions to improve your skills in that case and in the future. Welcome to Reflective Practice – an opportunity to help you and fellow mediators consider why you made choices in a mediation and as a result improve the quality and effectiveness of your practice.
In this practical session you will learn:
- What is Reflective Practice and why might it be important for me?
- How is Reflective Practice different from thinking/talking it through or getting feedback?
- How do I know I am doing the best I can?
- The powerful effect of a non-judgmental process (Reflective Debrief) for learning from practice situations.
- The practical value of participating in a Reflective Practice Group (RPG)
Facilitators: Michael D. Lang & Ellen Waldorf
Michael D. Lang
For more than 40 years Michael has mediated family, workplace, and organizational disputes.
Michael created and was the founding director of one of the first graduate programs in conflict resolution in the US at Antioch University in 1992 and served in a similar role at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.
In the area of reflective practice, he is the co-founder of The Reflective Practice Institute. Michael has authored The Practitioners Guide to Reflective Practice in Conflict Resolution (2019) and co-authored The Making of a Mediator: Developing Artistry in Practice, (2000). Michael facilitates or co-leads seven monthly reflective practice groups with participants from the US, Canada, Ireland, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and the UK.
Ellen Waldorf
Ellen Waldorf, the principal of eWaldorf Mediation in Massachusetts, helps clients navigate through conflict. For over 20 years, Ellen has mediated hundreds of cases including divorce, family, probate, and business issues. In addition, Ellen co-leads Divorce Mediation Training Associates where she teaches professionals to become divorce mediators; and as a co-founder of Step to Center, Ellen teaches employees and managers how to navigate interpersonal drama in the workplace. Ellen proudly serves on the board of the Community Dispute Settlement Center, a community mediation center in Massachusetts.
Ellen has participated in a reflective practice group for years and has incorporated reflective practice into the training of new mediators. Ellen is an Associate of the Reflective Practice Institute, which seeks to expand reflective practice within the mediation community worldwide.
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Time: 6:00pm-7:15pm (Eastern Time)
Cost: ACR-GNY Members attend for free; Non-members attend for $20 (scholarships available)
Location: Virtual via ZOOM
Pre-registration is required.
Contact Melody Wang with questions: melody.wang@acrgny.org
This event is interactive and a safe space for questions and honest feedback; registration will be capped at 30 participants.
