Specializing in Geriatrics

Elder Mediation

Marcie Cooper is a co-founder of The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey. For additional information about The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey, visit www.eldermediationcenter.com.

ELDER MEDIATION: An Ethical Model

Mediation is a process in which an impartial third-party, called a mediator, facilitates communication between parties in conflict. The mediator's goal is to assist and encourage disputing parties to reach a voluntary and mutually acceptable agreement. Mediation offers an alternative to court-involvement and at its best preserves relationships among participants that may have divergent goals.

The relatively new field of Elder Mediation provides dispute resolution services designed to resolve conflicts involving older adults, their families and others. The Elder Mediator works with the parties, helping them to identify their goals and priorities, to generate and explore options and to exchange information in hopes of arriving at a solution.

The kinds of conflicts that might be appropriate for elder mediation include matters with a legal basis (decision-making capability, guardianship, real estate issues, estate planning, long-term planning); family disagreements, (living arrangements, driving, second marriages or partnerships, neglect); community disputes (landlord/ tenant, maintenance of property, pets, wandering); bioethical matters ( medical treatment, end of life issues, advance directive interpretation).

The Role of the Geriatric Care Manager

The Elder Mediation Center of New Jersey has developed a unique model that views the Professional Geriatric Care Manager (PGCM) as an integral part of the elder mediation process. Using an Ethical Model for elder mediation, EMC-NJ considers the professional geriatric care manager to be essential when working with parties who are in dispute and are seeking a solution involving frail or vulnerable older adults.

The EMC-NJ approach differs significantly from other mediations models in that the PGCM is not the mediator. The PGCM supports the mediation by providing a care management assessment and formulating a plan of care that is used in the mediation process. The PGCM brings objective and professional guidance to a situation that is often fraught with emotion and disagreement. In recognizing the importance of the PGCM and the plan of care, the mediator uses the skills and recommendations of the PGCM to assist the participants in generating real options.