I attended an excellent webinar by Glen Hickerson Q.C. about mental health issues in arbitration and mediation today. Here are a few key take-aways that I will apply when running mediations and arbitrations in the future:

1. Over 20% of people in the general population have mental health issues at any given time. Mediation and arbitration processes must accommodate this, especially in family law.

2. Talk about it; you don’t need to get a medical history from your clients but you do need them to know that you will accommodate them. They can take breaks, call support people, use a support animal, etc.

3. Ask about distractions and triggers in the environment.

4. Encourage self-care. Suggest a walk. Asking people to take a lunch break improves their capacity to focus and settle; it does not take time away from the mediation and/or arbitration.

5. Draw attention to the civility in the room to reinforce the kind of conduct you are looking for.

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