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Mediate,
don't litigate.

If you are an attorney, teacher, principal, human resources manager, business executive, building contractor, architect, minister, law enforcement officer, social worker, family therapist, psychologist, nurse, doctor or hospital administrator, you can benefit from mediation training.

Jean Munroe is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 approved mediator who provides quality civil and family mediation training for mediators throughout Tennessee. Jean Munroe has had extensive training in civil and family mediation, along with a background in conflict resolution and law.

Whether you are seeking to become a mediator or need mediation training for your employees or organization, Jean Munroe can provide the training you need.

Services

Model

Mediation is a process of conflict resolution in which an impartial third party assists persons in dispute make informed decisions in an effort to resolve their differences.

Process

The process is goal-oriented insofar as it seeks an agreement which promotes a sense of respect, fairness, privacy, and a genuine understanding of the collaborative effort of conflict resolution.

Results

It focuses on present and future concerns rather than past grievances. Although discussion of past issues is necessary to diffuse tension, looking to the future allows for discussion of mutual needs and interests.

Skills and Concepts

Unmet Needs

We explore human needs. Our legal system is based on logic, but most people make decisions emotionally, then find rational reasons to support those decisions. By zeroing in on unmet needs, we bypass useless accusations and resolve disputes.

Neurolinguistics

Everyone has a preferred system for accessing information. Words and body language help us identify a person's preferred way of accessing the world. By understanding that person's system, we can gain their trust and guide them toward resolution.

Unmet Expectations

By identifying unmet expectations, including values and beliefs, we help parties adjust their expectations and focus on real problems rather than bones of contention. By translating each party's expectations to the other, we reduce anger and malice.

Personality Types

You may be familiar with Myers-Briggs. We use the Keirsey Personality Sorter which is a shortcut to identifying personality types. This is a tool to understand individuals and relate to them in a way they find comforting. (This overlaps with neurolinguistics.)

Communication

We illuminate the right and wrong way of asking questions. We learn how to validate, clarify, probe, and shift perspectives. We help people communicate their needs rather than blaming others. We break down barriers to understanding, validate parties in dispute, and move them from accusation to problem-solving.

Ethics

We study how to conduct ourselves impartially and how to safeguard the confidentiality of parties in dispute, as well as how to keep them informed and maintain their voluntary participation in the mediation process. We affirm our role as a neutral intermediary, not an advocate or representative of either party.

Who Is Eligible?

(a) Rule 31 Mediators in General Civil Cases

(1) To be listed by the ADRC as a Rule 31 Mediator in general civil cases, one must:

(A) be of good moral character and certify in writing an intention to comply with the conditions and obligations imposed by Rule 31, including those requirements related to pro bono obligations;
(B) have a graduate degree plus four years of practical work experience, or a baccalaureate degree plus six years of practical work experience; and
(C) complete 40 hours of general mediation training which includes the curriculum components specified by the ADRC for Rule 31 Mediators in general civil cases.

(2) If the applicant's profession requires licensing, the applicant shall also:

(A) be in good standing with the Board or Agency charged with issuing licenses to practice in the applicant's profession. The failure to take or pass an examination required by the Board or Agency will not affect the applicant's standing to apply for certification as a Rule 31 Mediator. A disbarred lawyer or any other professional with a suspended or revoked license may reapply when the applicant has been readmitted to practice.
(B) not be the subject of three or more open complaints made to the Board or Agency charged with hearing complaints about the applicant's professional conduct. If there are three or more open complaints with the relevant Board or Agency, the application will be deferred by the ADRC until the applicant has advised the ADRC that three or more open complaints no longer exist.

(b) Rule 31 Mediators in Family Cases

(1) To be listed as a Rule 31 Mediator in family cases, one must:

(A) comply with the requirements set forth in Section 17(a)(1)(A) and 17(a)(2)(A) and 17(a)(2)(B) above; and
(B) be a Certified Public Accountant, have a graduate degree, or have a baccalaureate degree with ten years practical experience in family mediation;
(C) have four years of practical work experience in psychiatry, psychology, counseling, social work, education, law, or accounting;
(D) complete 40 hours of training in family mediation which includes the curriculum components specified by the ADRC for Rule 31 Mediators in family cases and which also includes four hours of training in screening for and dealing with domestic violence in the mediation context; and
(E) complete six additional hours of training in Tennessee family law and court procedure. It is provided, however, that the ADRC may waive this requirement for lawyers who have completed at least six hours of ADRC-approved training devoted to Tennessee family law and/or procedure within the three-year period immediately prior to the completion of the requirements of Section 17(c)(3)(A) through (I).

Mediate, don't litigate.