It is the mediator's job to assist the participants in identifying their needs. They may need some other professional assistance before they can proceed in a way that will be helpful. A victim may need to address issues of trauma with a therapist. An offender who is in denial about substance abuse may benefit from a drug evaluation, before proceeding to face the victim. Most victims find it helpful to have a mediator assist them in considering the effects of the offense and what might meaningfully restore their losses.
Most offenders benefit from exploring how to best express their feelings about the offense.
A thoughtful process of preparing victims and offenders for mediation may also lead a participant to conclude that mediation would not be beneficial or appropriate. Fully informed consent is essential for mediation to be truly voluntary. The process of preparing participants is equally valuable when it leads to a considered decision not to mediate. Some prospective volunteer mediators, particularly those with experience in court-based mediation programs, consider the amount of time that a volunteer must be willing to devote to the process of case development and conclude that they would prefer to do their volunteering in a program where they can just show up, introduce and seat the parties, and mediate. One urban VORP uses an approach which was adapted from small claims court mediation programs, where a large volume of cases must be handled expeditiously.