| CODE | PSY5606 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Interpersonal and Helping Skills for Mediation | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Psychology | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces students to the interpersonal and helping skills necessary for mediation. These include the ability to listen actively, work systemically, reflect about one’s position, work and context, as well as use good questioning techniques to facilitate mediation using a non-expert approach, which impartially helps the clients to reach and make their own informed decisions concerning their future and those of their dependents. Through this study unit students will also develop an awareness of diversity issues which might come in the way of mediation, including gender, age, class, power, culture, race, religion, ill health and disability. They will also learn to reflect on their own use of authority and power within the mediation process. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to support students to think about themselves in the context of mediation and the interpersonal and helping skills which they have and/or need to develop further to facilitate dispute settling and conflict management. It also aims to support the students to start to engage in processes of reflexivity as prospective mediators who will eventually be active actors within mediation settings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the students will be able to: - Think about their role as a mediator and their positioning in terms of such; - Understand and reflect on basic interpersonal and helping skills required to engage people in the mediation process and used to help people manage and process conflict and reach an agreement; - Learn basic systemic concepts which might support mediator positioning, provide a broader understanding of relationships and interactions, and allow for an appreciation of the wider influencing social and historical contexts; - Acknowledge the influence of diversity issues, including gender, age, class, power, culture, race, religion, ill health and disability; - Think about ethical issues and dilemmas which might arise and hinder mediation settings. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - develop knowledge and awareness of themselves, their reflexivity processes, their inner conversations and the impact which different mediation settings can have on themselves as individuals;- - develop an ability to manage disputes in a professional way, whilst acknowledging the impact that they also have on the clients they work with and the mediation context; - understand, and practice, the helping skills necessary to the context of mediation such as active listening, paraphrasing, summarizing, mutualizing, and reframing; - understand the roles of hope and hopelessness in the context of mediation and problem-solving; - become aware of, and practice, various questioning techniques; - understand how to formulate circular hypothesis and explore ways of how these can be used in the context of mediation; - understand how to assess and establish safety and trust within the mediation context; - explore ways of how to support clients to problem-solve whilst maintaining neutral and impartial positions; - learn and practice skills such as drafting a genogram or a timeline to help in visually depicting contexts and exploring ways forward; - reflect on issues of diversity e.g. race, culture, class, gender, age, ability, etc. - handle high conflict, ethically challenging and/or demanding disputes. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text - Whatling, T. (2012). Mediation skills and strategies: A practical guide. Select Bibliography - Dallos, R., & Draper, R. (2015). An introduction to family therapy. - Egan G., (1990). The Skilled Helper. - Nelson-Jones R., (2005). Practical Counselling and Helping Skills. - Palazzoli, M.S., Boscolo, L., Cecchin, G., & Prata, G. (1980). Hypothesizing-Circularity-Neutrality: Three guidelines for the conductor of the session. Family Process, 19, 3-12. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Group Learning | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Elaine Schembri Lia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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