Advocates of transformative mediation, however, charge that problem-solving mediation is not empowering, but rather is disempowering, as the mediator tends to exercise a strong amount of control over both the process and the outcome, and the disputants don't learn much, if anything, about how to solve their problems themselves. Hence there is much more emphasis on helping people learn how to deal with the conflict effectively themselves. However, transformative mediation assumes that every disputant is capable of making good decisions for him or herself. Therefore, the mediator will likely refrain from any overt training during the mediation process. Rather, they will ask questions and restate things in ways which emphasize opportunities for empowerment and recognition, and gently encourage the parties to follow those leads if they feel comfortable doing so.
Training can also be transformative in nature, or it can be more problem solving oriented.
Transformative training, in a sense, is similar to what John Paul Lederach refers to as elicitive training. Rather than coming in as an expert who has all the answers, Lederach helps people work through a series of exercises to figure out answers for themselves. Thus, he elicits from them their own knowledge and skills about effective means for handling conflicts. Elicitive training is especially useful as both a training tool and an intervention tool. If people learn how to handle their own conflicts, using their own techniques, these are most likely to be applicable to future conflict situations they are likely to encounter.