Getting the best out of Support People

For people attending mediation, facilitated meetings, and coaching sessions, we encourage you to have support throughout the process. We work through a series of consensual processes. This means that when we bring people together, it is by choice - a consensual process. You may choose to bring a friend, family member, or colleague to support you, and as part of this, everyone in the room must know who will be attending. The ideal support person is someone whom you know and trust. Some people you may choose as your support person may be:

• A colleague

• A relative

• Union delegate

The less ideal person to choose as a support person may be:

• The avenging angel 

• Line manager

• Advocates, lawyers or barristers

• Power figures

You can choose to have a support person at any time, even if you have declined the opportunity before. If you decide to have a support person, just let us know beforehand so we can also inform other participants. Ideally, support people are generally silent in meetings. This is because the issues belong to the participants involved.