Volume 10 – 2017, No. 2

The Insight Mediation Model is here to stay. Cheryl Picard and Kenneth Melchin’s initial proposal of 2008, implemented and enriched by Picard (2016) herself, and by authors Jamie Price and Megan Price, inter alia, not only integrates many of the assumptions of the three classic mediation models (Interest-Based Model, Transformative Mediation and Narrative Models), but also provides an enriching very profound view of how conflicts are caused and how to solve them through mediation. In this paper, we will present the three classic models and the links and contributions of the Insight Mediation Model for us to show the richness of some of its concepts and tools (Direct and Inverse Insights, Cares, Threat-to-Cares, Defensive Narrative and Threat Narratives, Linking and Delinking, inter alia) which are already part of the Mediation theory and practice, as befit what we consider deserves to be counted as the fourth pillar in Mediation.

Insight Mediation is and original mediation model originated in Canada that was created as a reaction to traditional linear models, i.e. narrative and transformative models. This approach envisages the mediation intervention as a learning interactive process for the participating people (including the person leading the intervention). It is based on two philosophical and pedagogical theories that prioritize personal reflection as a way to reach knowledge: Lonergan’s insight theory, and Mezirow’s transformational learning theory. Using these two theories, its founders crafted a process resorting to specific communicative skills to overcome conflict, which is conceived as experiencing a threat to the most intimate certainties a person has. Lastly, the fact that this approach has been consolidating for over a decade makes it qualify as the fourth great mediation school at an international level.

In this essay, the author discusses the origins, principles and practices of Insight mediation. She brings to light what distinguishes Insight mediation from other mediation models through an examination of three key principles and practices, and ten prominent Insight interventions. The author contends that the power of Insight mediation lies in using a relational learning approach to intervene in conflict instead of relying on individualist views of negotiation and problem-solving methodologies. She also contends that the depth of Insight mediation’s theoretical foundation, along with practitioners learning to be self-reflexive about their role, enables Insight mediators to identify what they are doing, and why, allowing them to use more varied, creative and flexible interventions than would be found in prescriptive-type mediation models. Insight mediation makes room for the power of curiosity and authentic engagement as drivers of change.