Third-party mediation available in Lowcountry

Have you ever been in a fight with someone and felt that person was being too irrational, too stubborn, too closed-off to your point of view or just too plain difficult? It can be hard to find a mediating voice of reason among friends, family or even the soothing back-and-forth of the Jerry Springer show.

As the board chairwoman of the Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston, Cathy Liska hopes to readily provide neutral, third-party mediators to Lowcountry residents. The types of conflicts that the center is willing to take on are virtually limitless. She said everything from medical malpractice suits to family spats to divorce disputes to neighborhood conflicts fall under the umbrella of the center's work.

"It is totally across the board," Liska said.

She hopes the mediation center will help both individuals and groups solve their disagreements with the encouragement of these go-betweens. They don't give advice, and they don't even come up with the solutions. They "level the playing field," Liska said, by making sure everyone's voice and viewpoint is heard, especially when someone in the conflict is a stronger or more charismatic personality than the others.

Liska said the Mediation and Meeting Center currently is working to build a relationship with Lowcountry communities, especially its legal ones.

"Sometimes the courts are just so overloaded getting people through that we want to have them [mediators] present at court to help," she said. She said she has talked to several lawyers who support such an idea. "We're starting out by reaching out to the community and letting people know what we offer."

The organization is also trying to build up its local roster of volunteer mediators. They have to be willing to go through an average of 40 hours' worth of training. Currently, the organization cannot provide training at the center, but hopes to start in about a year.

"It's very intense and process-focused," Liska said, meaning that mediators won't be trained to become experts in legal matters or the psychology behind conflict resolution, but to facilitate effective communication between disputing parties.

The mediation center recently received its nonprofit status. The services are offered on a sliding fee scale based on county guidelines to encourage individuals from all socioeconomic levels to use the services.

Reach Sophia Rodriguez at 937-5538 or srodriguez@postandcourier.com.