What is the significance of perspective-taking in mediation?

Mediation can generally be seen as “cooperation under difficult circumstances”. Specifically, it is an out-of-court structured procedure for amicable conflict resolution between two or more parties. In the mediation process itself, the parties to the conflict (the so-called mediants) are regularly required to broaden their view of the conflict at a certain point in the process and to recognize and acknowledge the core concerns of the other party.

This broadening of perspective is central to any successful mediation process. And it is precisely this ability, i.e. to leave one's own point of view without giving it up, that is at the heart of perspective-taking.

In his German-language article “Successful conditions for perspective-taking in the mediation process” in the German journal "Zeitschrift für Konfliktmanagement" (zkm 06/2024), Fred Malich systematically considered the conditions that need to be in place to increase the likelihood of each conflict party adopting a new perspective. His conclusion: “Particularly in the interest phase of mediation, both mental as well as emotional processes must be understood in their interaction, taking into account self-referential processes in the brain, so that the attention process of each mediant can proceed with sufficient certainty. Mediators require certain skills, in particular those of action support in time, language skills and the ability to proactively and critically document their own actions.”

The article, published by Dr. Otto Schmidt publishing house, can also be requested online at https://www.otto-schmidt.de/kontakt