Well, it finally happened. My blog was picked up by google, which was searching for someone (name now confidential!) and lead her to one of my "musings" which apparently revealed far too much of a confidential mediation. Luckily, blogging also carries a "delete" feature--so that entry is now forever zapped away in the stroke of a key. And yet...
Mediation is a solitary, secret society. We hold confidences. We try new and innovative ways to resolve conflict, knowing if it fails (or if it succeeds) it will never be revealed. Even the negotiation is confidential, so that lawyers are not supposed to tell other lawyers what they tried and how it worked in a particular fact pattern. And yet...
But the internet is a different sort of creation. It is mass media writ larger than life! And so it strikes me that the wise mediator may have to keep mum from musing via this blogging tool. And yet...
Perhaps a brief hiatus and re-consideration/reconfiguration might be warranted in this instance. While I'm tempted to reveal my innermost musings in this fashion, perhaps it's ill-advised. And yet...
2 comments:
Jan, I disguise the mediations I blog by conflating several experiences into one; changing the subject matter of the negotiation and other details that might breach confidences. The "story" is indeed the heart of the matter and confidential even if names are changed. I go by a rule I've heard therapists go by in writing about their patients: if a patient could recognize himself in the telling, it discloses too much. If not, not. We need to be able to share these stories with one another to improve our practice while at the same time protecting our clients' privacy. It's not an easy line to walk but, I think, a necessary one. By the way, I know one mediator who includes a release in her confidentiality agreement saying that the "facts" might be used for teaching purposes.
The mediation experience itself is not confidential, although the contents of the session are.
From an educational and marketing standpoint, how can we expect more people to choose to engage in a process so shrouded in mystery and secrets? It's like asking someone to stick their hand in a dark hole because 'it'll be better for you'. Would you do it? I wouldn't.
Sharing the sanitized scenarios of real situations enables the readers to gleam insights about the process and see a specific instance were mediation was helpful. I liken it to reading the menu in the window of a restaurant before going in. Potential mediation consumers want to know: is this something for me?
As an Ombuds all my work is confidential, however, I do ask my clients to share publicly what drew them to the Ombuds function. Two articles in Inc and Entrepreneur magazine in the past three years has raised the profession's visibility and public awareness, I think.
Mediators (and Ombuds) should be careful but not mum, for our sake and for everyone elses.
Thanks, Jan, for shedding some light on this.
Best,
Dina Beach Lynch
ADRPracticebuilder.com
Mediation Mensch
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