Caucusing in Mediation A caucus is a privately held meeting attended by the mediator(s) and one of the parties. Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006

Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006 Why Caucus? To help people chare information they are not comfortable sharing in joint session. To give the mediation a chance to better understand the party’s emotional experience To give the mediator a chance to coach the disputant in terms of possible approaches to the conflict and process Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006

Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006 When to Caucus? When there are signals that a party is having trouble behaving appropriately in joint session To provide parties a time out to cool down To provide the mediators time to evaluate the process and further action Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006

Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006 Conducting a Caucus All discussions are confidential unless the party authorizes the mediator to share that content The mediator meets with every party each time s/he caucuses Tricia S. Jones, Temple University, copyright protect, March 2006