The following review of WAM's Self Assessment Tool for Mediators by James B. Boskey is reprinted from The Alternative Newsletter (July 1998):

This pamphlet is proof, if proof was ever needed, that good things often come in small packages. For all of the discussions about mediator credentialling, recommendations for mandatory continuing education, and the like, the fundamental responsibility for maintaining one's mediation skills, and indeed any other skills, rests with the individual. With this pamphlet the Wisconsin Association of Mediators offers the responsible mediator a functional outline of many of the major considerations that should be taken into account in a self-assessment which will provide warnings of the need for advanced training or other means of refreshing one's capacities.

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The self-assessment process focuses on five common elements of mediation: knowledge of the process, managing the process, analytical skills, empathic skills and building agreements. For each area it offers a one-page definition and list of mediator behaviors and a series of questions for reflection by the mediator to examine how well he or she is meeting these needs. Additionally, the pamphlet treats mediator presence, which it sees as the foundation for the five elements, and ethical behavior, which is, of course, fundamental to responsible practice, and treats them in the same way. Finally, it provides a page of questions for reflection relating to case considerations.

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Anyone who is serving as a mediator, or considering so serving, will benefit greatly from working through the ideas in this book. This should not be a one-time event, however, but a regularly scheduled program of reflection to maintain and continuously refine the mediator's skills.

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Copies of WAM's Self Assessment Tool for Mediators are available at $5.00 per copy with a 15% discount for orders of 50 copies or more.

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