We love offering mediation training, and
​participants love our mediation training.

It's a big claim to say people love our mediation training, but it's true. Since CCMA started offering virtual mediation training in 2022*, 100% of our training participants indicated our training was either good or excellent, and over 88% rated the training as excellent. 
*We actually have over 20 years of experience training mediators, and we previously offered mediation training as The Center for Dispute Resolution at Missouri State University.

What do people love about CCMA's mediation training? Read on to hear it in their own words. 

An Awesome Training

• It was such a wonderful training course, thank you so much Heather and Char for all the time and energy you put into this course. It is truly one of the best courses, if not the best course I have ever taken.
• It was one of the BEST trainings that I have participated in.
• It was fun, laid back...I LOVED IT!...Cool Coaches!!!
• I was just impressed with the level of knowledge, expertise, and experience that was shared in a very short amount of time. The amount of resources is pretty overwhelming, but much appreciated.
• I really enjoyed this experience!
• This was very well organized and professionally conducted. From last fall when I reached out to Heather, through the registration process to the training and the support that comes after, this is a well run system. Thank you!
• The training was comprehensive, educative and practical.
• Impressively organized and managed.
• This training exceeded my expectations, and I have high expectations!
• The training was very informative and encouraging.
• Simply AMAZING!
• This was a truly well-done program.
• Outstanding - exceeded expectations!  
• I would definitely recommend this training to others.

Engaging and Interactive

• ​​Despite the extensive training and long hours, I never felt bored. It was the perfect distribution of lecturing and activities. The timing and length of breaks were also just enough.
• This was a wonderful training. Let’s just say best I have had in years. It was engaging while mindfully thought out as to the flow.
• You are both so knowledgeable and professional.  Heather - I told you this, you are so good at what you do - grace and professionalism!  And Char, I really appreciate how you shared your impressive and vast experience so humbly and in a way we could all understand.  It was so much information - and you made it engaging, applicable and leaving me want to learn more! 
• Far more engaging that I had anticipated for an online class.
• Char had a refreshing and engaging style. She was patient encouraging and inclusive. I enjoyed her style of teaching very much.
• Nicely done with engaging people in an online environment, which can be difficult.

Great Online Format and Training Structure

​Online Format and Structure of the Training

• A really terrific job. Heather's updates were fantastic. I really never thought that online training could be better than in person but I actually think this surpassed the in person training I had previously received.
• I enjoyed the online format more than I anticipated. I had feared that it would be difficult to focus on if not on-site somewhere, but it wasn't.
• Very well organized, even the moments where something unexpected happened you would troubleshoot with ease and grace.
• Great structure and flow - Char and Heather both very helpful!
• Impressively thought out.
• I liked the mix of activities--lecture, small group discussion, case studies, practice
• Though technology is not my strong suit - I feel that each of you were willing to help me overcome what I perceived as a major hurdle.
• The format was great for a remote program.

Outstanding Materials

• The training materials are fantastic.  I greatly appreciate you giving a copy of the slides, all the exercises, and all the supplemental information.  The examples of mediation agreements and other paperwork is appreciated as well.  Great job!
• The manual is so thorough and much appreciated.
• Most comprehensive training materials I have ever been given. I feel confident that if I have any questions I will be able to find the solution in this PDF.
• I really enjoyed how easily things were searchable/found within the PDF.
• Written materials are fantastic. Having forms to use is great
• The organization of the materials, google classroom, items posted in chat were all very helpful as I appreciate structure and clarity. Having access to the classroom for up to a year is very appreciated.
• I appreciated the written materials which will be a great resource as I start digesting everything I've learned.  I also appreciate the opportunity to watch actual mediations, and to role play (specifically as mediator) was very helpful.

Incredible Coaches

• I enjoyed the coaches so much ! It was great to hear, see and experience all the styles and suggestions that they all brought. The role plays were exhausting but SO IMPORTANT. I learned so much in every single one of them and I am so grateful and thankful.
• Having coaches in each of the role play sessions was very helpful.  It's great to get live feedback on training exercises as that helps us to be better prepared for actual client mediations.
• Having experienced mediators to talk to and coach us and having video examples of some of the same different role plays we did was wonderful.
• I appreciated getting to work with teachers from different backgrounds.
• It is nice to talk to the coaches about their experiences and how they do mediation.
• The coaches were so useful in that you were afforded the opportunity to see different styles, take what their style showed you, and plug it into how you see yourself mediating. The variety of styles seems very important. In the beginning, I was wondering if I had made a mistake in thinking I could be a mediator, until I saw a coach's style that told me, yeah, you are okay - that coach's art of mediation makes sense and matches who you are.
• Coaches were invaluable. I also like that I saw a different coach for each role play. Additionally, I appreciated they all practiced different area of mediation and had different approaches to how they mediate.
• I really appreciate the variety of areas the different coaches work with, because it gave several perspectives.
• The feedback from the coaches were constructive and watching other examples also provided me with additional take aways.
• I appreciate the generosity and professionalism of every coach and instructor, especially with regard to future observing, networking, and co-mediating.
• I very much appreciate every coach being not just open to us contacting them for mentoring and experience but they all seemed truly and genuinely to mean that offer. Amazing!
• The coaches were very helpful.  This helped to make the training phenomenal.
• The trainers’ and coaches’ knowledge and willingness to share feedback, resources, and establish connections for future networking is truly invaluable if seeking a future in mediation or conflict management.

Invaluable Role Play Practice

• The role play was most useful. Participants did a great job of staying in role and making the mediator work for progress.
• The role plays were great with the coaches!
• I really think the role playing was quite helpful.
• The role play with the coaches was the most beneficial.
• The role plays were universally helpful--no matter what part I played, I learned a lot.
• Observing role plays and receiving feedback from coaches when participating in role plays were very helpful. I was able to observe a lot of techniques and understand the rationale behind the mediators' choice. The coaches were amazing, and their feedback was encouraging and constructive.
• The role playing was my favorite part as practice is what makes real cases easier to manage.
• I thought the practice mediations with the coaches were very helpful. It really gave great feedback to us as we practiced and exposed us to different mediation styles.
• I think watching as well as acting in the role plays was very useful and helpful, as well as the process of developing our opening statement.
• While I am not particularly comfortable doing the exercises, I do believe this is one of the most important components.
• Doing role play helped me experience some of the possible mediations that I may have and how I might manage them.
• Even when I was an actor or observer, I was able to learn a lot. The coaches and other participants' feedback was constructive, and we were able to brainstorm and discuss what could have been done differently. There were so many different scenarios and characters, which gave a good sense of issues or concerns that may come up in mediation and an opportunity to discuss how to address those.
• I appreciated having a safe space and great coaching to try mediating for the first time.  I have never been involved in or observed a mediation so this was so important to start feeling comfortable with the language - and learning how to make it my own
• The role plays were applicable to potential real life situations. The ability to get feedback from many different coaches allowed us to see various styles and that was most beneficial.
• It was helpful to interact as mediators or mediation participants to create "real-life" situations with the guidance of coaches
• The role play and coaching allowed me to experience what it would be like to be in an actual mediation. I enjoyed being able to watch others mediate as I was able to gain ideas and strategies.

How the Training Benefits Participants

• I have new goals and skills for my personal and professional life
• I hope to open and grow a strong mediation practice.
• In part the training reinforced my general approach to conflict in the professional world (I have been in positions as the point person to field complaints and help solve them). This training made it more clear to me than it was before that I am well suited to this work and that I should consider it as a side in the near term, or as a career after my current one.
• I am hoping that I will be able to transition to doing more mediating and less litigating.
• I am more interested now in doing mediation as a result of this training! Thank you!!
• I'm going to be a pro at re-framing!!!
• I plan to add this service to my existing business.
• I think it will impact me greatly in the near future. I will use this information all the time.
• It has definitely added to my vocabulary for neutrality and consensus building. I will be able to articulate concepts with more inviting and expansive language as I train people in my current role.
• All the skills and information relate to my current work. I am confident I'll use something pretty much every day.
• This training gives me the foundation and skills to be a better communicator in personal life and the skills needed to build a professional career in mediation.
• I think not only will it help me with mediation, it can help me work with high conflict clients.
• I believe I can take this information and begin my individual practice once I graduate. My goal is to soak up more specialized training in the meantime and possibly some shadowing.
• The skills for facilitating a difficult conversation will be very helpful both professionally and personally.
• Although I hope to move into the area professionally, at least as a sideline, it will help dispute resolution in whatever job I end up having next.
• It was very helpful to get further practice and tons of information regarding the resources out there. Although I am not fully sure whether I will pursue a career as a professional mediator, I know that the skills I learned will be helpful in resolving my own conflicts and informal conflicts that occur around me with my friends, family, coworkers, etc.
• I am the de facto mediator in thousands of cases I have work on - now I have some useful skills to bring parties together.
• This training enhanced my previous skills from case management services and counseling.
• I think this training has added skills into my tool bag to do my current job, but also has positioned me to grow my skills in the area of conflict management.  I have recently been exposed to Organization Development field and it aligns with the people development side really well.  I also believe that this will be empower my personal relationships as well.
• Huge impact! I have a much deeper understanding of how mediation can help people and organizations move forward with any conflict. 
• I am very hopeful that these skills will be a great jumping off point for some new adventures and avenues in my career. I am looking to expand beyond what I am doing now and I feel like this has shown me a lot options that are out there.
• It has already improved my communication and helped me to better appreciate other's viewpoints and interests.  One of my favorite analogies that was shared was that mediation isn't just about dividing up the pie - but sometimes results in making the pie even bigger (I hope I got that right!)  That really resonated with me - the ability to help others find creative solutions that they didn't see before and actually which are meeting a deeper need.  I'm sure I will use this in my personal life.  As for professionally, I don't have that defined yet but I am open to new opportunities and can't wait to apply these new skills.
• This has been game-changing both personally and professionally, I am very happy and learned a great deal.
• I have already begun registering with the state and reaching out to join mediation organizations. This has already had a positive impact on me and my career.
• This is an area that I wasn't aware of as a professional option for me. It has been a great experience and I am identifying how I can serve my community with my skill set and my continuous mediation training.
• These are skills I will use in both my personal and professional life.
• I believe that this training will impact me greatly professionally and personally.
• Professionally – this helps expand my skills to work with students, families, and employees. Personally, I’m looking to begin doing this as my own business.
• This training will not only better my communication skills in current career setting, but also open opportunities for new potential career options.