FAQs
A collection of CC’s most frequently heard questions, ever-evolving and often amended
Is this therapy?
No. Participants may be challenged individually and communally in the course of resolving conflict, but the CC process aims to reach tangible resolutions for discrete issues that arise when a family is in distress. Sessions are future-focused, collaborative, and favor efficient communication around the issue(s) at hand. Transformed and enhanced relationships are not the focus of an individual session, though they will likely be a welcome side effect of clarity and consensus around decision-making.
Are sessions confidential?
By default, yes. Participants are asked to sign an agreement to maintain confidentiality. If all involved wish to waive confidentiality, that can be arranged, but only upon mutual consent across the board.
How does mediation work in a virtual forum?
Virtual forums have their benefits and their limits. Indeed, working together in the same room typically enhances connection, but intimacy can be achieved in a virtual forum as well. And safety and control have proven to be more accessible.
Are there any kinds of conflicts you don't facilitate or people you won't work with?
Technically, no. However, this work is intimate, emotionally demanding, and highly sensitive. When necessary to protect personal or professional boundaries we will do so, but these are not outlined with regard to a type of conflict or person.
“Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.”
~ Paradox of Tolerance, Karl Popper
What is meant by “interest-based”?
Many modern ADR schools of thought recognize a hierarchy of approaches to solving conflict: power-based, rights-based, and interest-based.
Power-based solutions look like oligarchies, families that bow to a single matriarch or patriarch, a governing body that makes decisions for everyone else, end of story.
Rights-based solutions defer to a pre-established set of rules or morals, that dictate right and wrong; like power-based solutions, these are also top-down (though enforcement may be nuanced).
Interest-based solutions do away with hierarchies and established rules or ethics, and instead look to the individual wants, needs, desires, and interests of the people who are involved and affected by a conflict, to derive solutions organically, and from the ground up.
Do you work with hospice?
Yes. We work closely with both hospice and palliative care professionals to integrate our services with medical care providers; we are also mindful and respectful of the grief process, and operate within this framework minimally, to create as little interference as possible with the natural prioritization of a family’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Can I bring my kids?
When appropriate, and with the consent of all participants, children are absolutely welcome to join sessions as valued participants and will be treated as such. However, this is not always appropriate and will be determined on a case-by-case basis, in relation to the conflict itself, and to the children’s age, development, and emotional maturity.
Can I bring my lawyer?
Litigious solutions are typically antithetical to the nature of the work, as CC aims to prevent legal involvement in family disputes. However, the decisions that surround end-of-life care involve complex regulatory systems, and may have legal consequences; similarly, solutions that are reached in mediation will form the basis of a legally binding contract. As such, legal representation is welcome in the larger process to provide checks and balances, assurances, and legal guidance, but the presence of an attorney in individual sessions must be approved by all members prior to invitation, and in writing. CC recognizes the value of legal involvement in certain situations and is supportive of customized approaches and harmonious collaboration with clients’ legal representation.
What if my issue is also involved in an ongoing lawsuit?
Mediation is a tool that may eliminate the need for litigation, by allowing the parties to reach decisions by forming an autonomous agreement outside of court. The result is a legally binding contract and may be more cost- and time-effective than a judicial forum. CC will work with your attorney to simplify and streamline the process.
What if we don’t resolve anything? Do you offer a guarantee?
First and foremost, CC will not accept a case if we don’t think we can help. Second, success for families dealing with end-of-life care is impossible to define with a simple checkmark: outcomes are multiple, nuanced, and ever-evolving. We see success when we can ease the obstacles that impede a healthy grief process, when we prevent a fallout between two family members, or when we can help a family come to a consensus about a divisive decision. We also see success when participants feel that their relationships have changed for the better. That said, no, we do not offer a guarantee in the traditional sense; but we guarantee our full selves and our best service, and as compassionate human beings, we will not with integrity accept money for any service that falls below our standards or fails to provide benefit.