Mediation Theory and Practice

This book provides basic information for one type of mediation. It does cover foundational theories and practices of mediation, so I believe it would be useful for any beginning mediator in any field.

I was also required to purchase this book for a college course in regards to mediation. However much to my surprise, I'm going to hang onto this book to utilize the incredible and vast amount of information it offers. One of the strength's of this book are the ways in which it clarifies meaning. Case studies are offered frequently in the book to lay out a scenario in which the topic being learned can be applied, making it very easy to understand a topic that might have been potentially confusing. There are also many quick examples in the text itself that help in understanding topics as well. One excerpt showing this is: "Similar to emotional contagion theory, communication accomodation theory (CAT) examines how humans subconsciously regulate their own behavior to meet the communication patterns of another. If a disputant has a slow rate of speech, the mediator might regulate his or her own rate of speech or size of gesture to be similar to the disputant-creating a feeling of kinship and comfort..."(McCorkle & Reese, 37) All in all, a great book for getting a solid foundation of the mediation process. Definitely recommended.