DIVORCE MEDIATION TRAINING WORKSHOP
WASHINGTON, D.C.
March 10-14, 2011
Thank you for your interest in our training workshop in divorce mediation for professionals to be held March 10-14, 2011, at the offices of Mediation Matters in Bethesda, Maryland. This workshop is designed to provide both hands-on training and a clear framework to help you work with divorcing families. Our past participants tell us that this is some of the best professional training they have ever received. We hope your experience will be the same.
What does this workshop include?
Our workshop uses an interactive format with role-play,
videotapes of mediations, demonstrations, lectures, discussions, simulations,
and even music and poetry.
Our 400-page manual covers all the basic content areas of divorce mediation including:
- property division,
- support, and
- parenting arrangements.
The training presents a six-stage model for structuring the mediation process with a focus on the skills involved in becoming an effective mediator. Included are components on:
- paradigms for understanding conflict,
- the emotional process of divorce and how it affects mediation,
- the styles of mediation and identifying yours,
- screening for domestic violence,
- mediation and the law,
- confidentiality,
- using caucusing effectively,
- how co-mediation adds value,
- mediation ethics and standards of practice,
- starting your practice as a mediator and how to market,
- writing competent memoranda of agreement,
- and much more.
A distinctive feature of this training is extensive use of videotapes for instruction, including tapes of actual mediations. We will also provide you with a computer disk with the forms we use with clients. The workshop includes a minimum of six mediation role-plays so that each participant can practice and develop his/her skills.
What training qualifications will be satisfied by this workshop?
This 40-hour comprehensive divorce mediation training has been approved by the Family Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the national professional association of mediators and other ADR professionals. This workshop meets the training requirement needed to apply for Practitioner Member status in ACR.
Divorce falls under state law, and many states now have
training requirements. This program meets many state 40-hour training
requirements to practice as a mediator.
For Maryland residents, this workshop will meet the 40-hour requirement for basic mediation training under Rule 17 of the Court of Appeals in Maryland for those wishing to be approved as mediators.
For Virginia residents, this workshop has been approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia as a 40-hour Family Mediation training program that may be applied toward partial fulfillment of the training requirements as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Mediator and Circuit Court Family Mediator.
The workshop is also approved for Category 1 SW CEUs for Maryland social workers and CEUs for Maryland Psychologists.
A certificate of completion, suitable for framing, will be issued to you upon successful completion of and full attendance at the training course.
Who are the faculty for the course?
Carl D. Schneider, Ph.D… Over the past 20 years, Carl has trained several thousand mediators locally, nationally, and abroad. Carl is the Director of Mediation Matters, in Bethesda, Maryland, and is a registered psychologist and licensed clinical Marriage and Family Therapist. Carl has been an Associate with Business Mediation Associates (1996-1997), a member of the Civil Rights Mediation Program of the Attorney General's Office in the State of Vermont (1995-6), a mediator with the Center for Employment Dispute Resolution (1998) and a mediator with the Baltimore District Office of EEOC (1997-02).
He is a mediator with the Department of Justice's Americans with Disabilities Act Mediation Program (1995-), the United States Post Office's REDRESS mediation program, the Mediator Network panel, and the Office of Human Rights of Montgomery County. He is a Certified Mediator with the Maryland Council on Dispute Resolution and with the Supreme Court of Virginia, and is an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). He is an Approved Mediator with the Frederick County Civil Mediation Program and certified for Circuit Court— Civil referrals in Virginia. He has been on the Board of Directors of the national Academy of Family Mediators, the Maryland Council on Dispute Resolution, the Mediation Council of Illinois, and the Family Mediation Association of Georgia. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
"Strengths too numerous to enumerate here - Generally, Carl Schneider does everything in the training well - outstanding teacher, speaker, preacher, entertainer - Teaches by example - what an example."
— Louisa Abbot, Superior Court Judge, Chatham County, Georgia
Coaches: experienced mediators will
assist with individual coaching for participants in small group role plays.
Dates/Time/Location:
March 10-14, 2011. This is an intensive, experiential forty-hour workshop. We will meet from 8:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Thursday-Monday. (There will also be an evening session the second day, Friday, March 11, from 7:00-9:00 p.m.) Please plan to be present for the full workshop. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the first day, and we will start promptly at 8:45 a.m. We end the workshop by 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The workshop will be held at the office of Mediation Matters, 9816 Parkwood Drive, Bethesda, Maryland (click for directions).
What is the cost?
Early registration (a $175 deposit at least thirty days prior to the workshop) is $1285 (manual included). After that, the fee is $1385. The full balance is due two weeks prior to the workshop with no refunds beyond that point.
How do I register?
Send a check for $175 and a completed registration form to:
Mediation Matters
9816 Parkwood Drive
Bethesda, MD 20814
Your registration fee is refundable, less $25 service fee, up to three weeks prior to the training. Since many of our workshops fill quickly, we encourage you to register early.
Should I read anything beforehand?

Yes. We recommend two books - Roger
Fisher and William Ury with Bruce Patton's GETTING TO YES (2nd ed.,
Houghton Mifflin, 1991; $11.20) and Gary Friedman's A GUIDE TO
DIVORCE MEDIATION (Workman Publishing, l993; $12.95 pb ISBN 1-56305-245-8).
Reading these beforehand will help you make better use of the workshop.
These books can be ordered online from Amazon.com by clicking on the cover pictures to the left. Copies of the Friedman
book will also be available for purchase at the workshop.
The 400 page Training Manual for the workshop, including ready-to-use forms, will be distributed the first day of the training.
What is the size of the workshop?
There will be a maximum of 13 participants in the workshop. We keep the workshops small so that participants have greater opportunity for role play.
Accommodations and Meals:
If you would like assistance in finding nearby comfortable accommodations, please contact us. We will provide a continental breakfast in the morning, snacks in the afternoon, and a gourmet luncheon daily.
Please join us:
We hope you will be able to join us for this professional training workshop. If you have any questions, feel free to call us (301/581-0330 or 1-800-905-2221 outside of the Washington DC area). We look forward to seeing you in March.
"I learned more in these few days (and had more fun too) than my entire Master's program (Yale). ...I shall never forget the experience. "
— Shelby Kay Buckman, M.S., Guardian ad Litem, New Haven, Connecticut
Carl D. Schneider,
Ph.D.
Director,
Mediation Matters
