The ability to identify with another person’s anguish is a function of empathy. A mediator should strive to get the parties to have an enhanced sense of empathy for the opposing party. In his book, “Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas”, Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks, has a chapter on empathy. The author describes how narrative is how we can enter the inner world of other people. That is why the Bible is replete with memorable narratives. To Sacks, empathy is an essential element in dispute resolution. There is a cycle at work in disputes; people have experienced pain and they respond by inflicting pain on others. The only antidote to the inevitable cycle is to attempt to assuage another’s pain by letting them know that “they have been understood, their humanity recognized, and their dignity affirmed.” A mediation session that has achieved this goal is one well on its way to Win-Win.
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Articles About Civil and Dignified Divorce 
Posted on April 13, 2024
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