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Strong Enough to Handle the Ugly "To benefit those you serve, you must have the courage to bring up the difficult subjects and have the patience to allow the disputants to tell their story and resolve their own emotions." "If you stick to warm fuzzy conversations, people will tell you that they really like you. What they will wish is-that they had really dealt with the hardest part of their problem that day in mediation. They will wish that they had the courage to deal with the part that was too ugly to talk about, to hard to say, too embarrassing or difficult to find words to describe. They will wish that you could help them envision a time that others could understand the worst part and forgive them for it, so they can forgive themselves." "If you wish to become a mediator, counselor or any kind of helping person, know first what people truly need of you. They need you to be strong enough to handle the ugly part of life-to talk about these ugly issues as if they are not taboo-and to inspire them to recover from the problems that they used to think that they could not handle. It is a selfless and thankless job while you are going through it. Later, those you help will thank you many times in silence." - Mary Kendall Hope, pp. 28-29. An invaluable and accessible work for professionals and students, The Guided Method of Mediation offers a new and better theory for the provision of mediation. The step-by-step process for providing mediation is outlined clearly. Specific strategies and recommendations are made throughout the book, along with examples used to illuminate key points and demonstrate how this technique works in real situations. This book is the second in a three book series on mediation. Pastoral Mediation is currently available and Role-Plays for Resolution is forthcoming.