What is unique about mediation is that the parties own their conflict and work it out with a neutral third party. Picchioni has a Ph.D. in counseling. Since the 1970s, he has trained others in mediation in the United States, Canada and Mexico. As a consultant for clients including the State of Texas, the U.S. Army and the Dallas court system, Picchioni has trained attorneys, educators, ministers and corporate leaders in the art of mediation. The cardinal rule of mediation is neutrality, Picchioni says.
Mediators have to leave their own biases and prejudices at the door.
The program's growth has exploded with more than 150 people enrolled in the graduate certificate program today. We recognized we had hit a nerve in the community, and now, a year and a half later, SMU has the most developed ADR program in the North Texas area. To accommodate busy schedules of business professionals who want to finish in one year, we compressed our semester schedule into a 10-week term. The increase in mediation has led to an increase in the demand for skilled professionals in alternative dispute resolution, mediation and negotiation. We found that the interests of children and their parents during the divorce process could be more humanely served through mediation rather than divorce wars fought openly in court.