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Mediation Training & Certification

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Foundations of Mediation

Foundations of Mediation is typically offered each January. Please check back for confirmed dates and registration details.

Build the skills to mediate conflict, support dialogue, and foster resolution.

The Foundations of Mediation is a 40-hour, in-person training designed to equip participants with the core principles, tools, and techniques of facilitative mediation. Whether you're interested in becoming a certified mediator or want to strengthen your communication and conflict resolution skills, this training offers hands-on learning grounded in real-world application.​​

What Makes Our Training Special:

Participants engage in tabletop practice mediations, group discussions, and live roleplays that simulate real cases. Our approach emphasizes practical skill-building and reflection, creating a supportive environment where learners grow through experience and feedback.

This training serves as the foundation for certification through the CDRC. After completing the 40-hour training, participants can continue their path to certification by completing:

  • 4 Mediation Observations

  • 4 Co-mediations with a Certified Mediator

  • 4 Lead Mediations (with mentor support)

Certified mediators may then be eligible to mediate small claims, workplace, and other community cases supported by the CDRC.

What You'll Learn:

  • Principles of facilitative mediation

  • Communication and active listening techniques

  • Managing conflict and emotion in high-stakes situations

  • Neutrality, confidentiality, and ethics

  • Structuring the mediation process

  • Interest-based problem solving

  • Cultural humility and awareness in mediation

Cost:

The full training cost is $600 + $25 for the textbook. Scholarships and reduced-rate options may be available for volunteers, students, and nonprofit professionals.

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Family Law Mediation

Family Law is typically in offered in March or April. Check back for exact dates. Please check back for confirmed dates and registration details.

Specialized training for mediators working with parenting plans and co-parenting agreements.

This 16-hour, in-person training builds on the Foundations of Mediation course and prepares mediators to work with families navigating parenting plans and other family law matters. Grounded in practical skill-building and trauma-informed approaches, this training emphasizes the complexity of co-parenting dynamics and the importance of child-centered agreements.​​

What Makes It Special:

This training combines evidence-based content with the lived realities of co-parenting conflict. You’ll gain tools to support parents in developing clear, workable parenting plans—while maintaining neutrality and sensitivity to power imbalances. Our program emphasizes safety, ethics, and the long-term well-being of children.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Child development and the needs of children in separated families

  • Understanding and identifying domestic violence and power dynamics

  • Screening for safety and appropriateness for mediation

  • Navigating conflict between co-parents

  • Techniques for managing emotional conversations

  • Practice through tabletop exercises and real-world scenarios

Certification Criteria (CDRC):

Completion of the Family Law Mediation Training (16 hours in class plus homework) is one step toward certification. To become certified in Family Law Mediation through the CDRC, participants must also complete:

  • 4 Observations of family law mediations

  • 4 Co-mediations with a certified family law mediator

  • 4 Lead Mediations, conducted with mentor support

Prerequisite:

Participants must have completed a 40-hour Foundations of Mediation training (or equivalent) before enrolling.

Cost:

The full training cost is $450. Reduced rates or scholarships may be available for volunteers, students, and nonprofit professionals.

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