ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the underlying basis on which practice rests to construct a different approach to mediation practice and reexamines views of both what conflict is and what the ideal response to conflict. In the transformative orientation, a conflict is first and foremost a potential occasion for growth in two critical and interrelated dimensions of human morality. The first dimension involves strengthening the self. The second dimension involves reaching beyond the self to relate to others. The chapter discusses the patterns of the transformative approach, noting how they contrast with those of problem-solving practice. In problem-solving mediation, success is achieved when an agreement is reached that solves the problem and satisfies all sides. In transformative mediation, success is achieved when the parties as persons are changed for the better, to some degree, by what has occurred in the mediation process. In a transformative approach, empowerment and recognition are the two most important effects that mediation can produce.
