Mediation
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It has been said that you can pick your friends but not your family. Family conflicts can be one of the most challenging conflicts to deal with because, regardless of the outcome, you are still family. The good news is that there are ways of dealing with familial conflict and through Signature Mediation you can find those ways.
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There are times when relationships do not work out. These can be particularly challenging to deal with especially if there are children involved. Often times it requires a conversation and the issues dealt with one step at a time.
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As businesses grow and attempt to maintain a competitive edge, the demands on the work force increases. Often times communication breaks down and people find themselves lost. Through facilitation, conversation and discussion, solutions can be found that make businesses prosper and employees happy to be part of the success.
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Farming has been and always will be a financial challenge. It is a good way of life but a poor way to make a living. Discovering the tools that are available to farmers can create beneficial decision making tools for anyone involved in agriculture. With his experience in dealing with numerous farm families, Gerry can provide the expertise to help you as you work towards a brighter future.
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Many farms and businesses are owned and operated by people who realize that at some point they will be moving on. It becomes a challenge to determine how these businesses can succeed in the future. Personalities take over and often times businesses struggle as personnel and visions change. Discussions need to happen to ensure that the right professionals become involved to make transitions as seamless as possible.
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Often times organizations, which can include clubs, churches, etc, struggle to find their place in the community. Communication breaks down as emotions take over. Through guided conversation, a better understanding can develop to help these organizations grow and prosper into the future.
Gerry Friesen's mediation career began in 2000 when he became a member of the Manitoba Farm Mediation Board. As he began that work he recognized that through his experience with various organizations, he utilized a collaborative approach in all situations.
Growing up on a family farm, farming with a brother and raising a family in rural Manitoba have provided ample opportunity in shaping Gerry's views on conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict transformation.
Gerry began his training in conflict resolution in 2000 with the Canadian Dispute Resolution Corporation. Since that time he has taken Conflict Resolution courses at the University of Winnipeg, received a certificate in Conflict Resolution from Mediation Services in Winnipeg, and completed a Professionalism and Ethics course offered by the Agricultural Institute of Canada. Further to this, Gerry holds certificates in Crisis Intervention and Crisis Trauma Response. In 2008 he completed the requirements for ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training).
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Mediation is a voluntary process in which two or more parties meet with an impartial mediator to discuss issues, better understand conflict, explore options and settle on outcomes.
Mediation is a cost effective method of resolving conflict in a timely manner. It provides a safe setting with professional help in which decisions are made by the participants. Agreements arising from a collaborative approach are more satisfactory and have a better chance of lasting into the future.
The mediator will consult with all parties involved in any given situation and will determine the suitability of the case for mediation, help the parties explore their interests and concerns to ensure each party’s willingness to pursue resolution through the mediation process.
Mediation can be an appropriate approach to various situations including family disputes, church and community settings, workplace, separation and divorce, victim offender, as well as others.
In the mediation process, the Mediator will guide the process to ensure that each person gets to speak, each person is heard and that the conversation is respectful, constructive and productive. Through recognition of the other party's issues, you experience the empowerment to express your own issues. In this way a transformation happens that one would not have thought possible. Agreements reached in a voluntary, cooperative process, where each person feels heard and their interests achieved, are more satisfactory and have a better chance of enduring over the long run.
"Turning problems into possibilities."
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Conflict is a normal part of life. We experience conflict at work, at school, between partners, with our kids, with our parents, between teachers and students. How we deal with this conflict determines our very lives as conflict can have significant implications depending on how they are managed. It can destroy relationships, friendships, and communities. The stress caused by unresolved conflict can also have a negative impact on a person's health and life in general. If dealt with in a proactive and objective method, it can enhance relationships, workplace productivity, and our very outlook on life. Mediation provides a safe setting with professional help in which disagreements can be openly discussed and resolved. Although the past is important and issues from the past must be dealt with, the focus of mediation is to determine how the parties will live in the present and head into the future.
"It's a terrible and tragic and counterproductive policy to avoid communicating with people who disagree with us." - Jimmy Carter
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Stress is a normal reaction to events that we perceive to be challenges or threats. Stress is a normal part of life. There can be good stress which can make you stronger and more alert or there can be bad stress which occurs when a situation carries on for a long time and feels outside of your control. Everybody reacts differently to stress. We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. How we respond to stress dictates what effect that stress will have on us and the people around us. Today a number of us are experiencing burnout, low-productivity, insomnia and stress-related illnesses undoubtedly due to a lack of balance between our work and personal lives. It is time to take a look at how we can create greater balance in our work and personal lives. Sometimes our emotional gas tanks run empty and, any additional stress can make our lives miserable and overwhelming.
Just remember. There is hope and there is help. If you find yourself not being able to manage your stress, if you are feeling depressed, if your emotional gas tank is empty and you would like to experience relief from the waves of stress and despair, contact Gerry at Signature Mediation. Take the first step to a better life.
"Whether you say you can or you say you can't, you are right."
