Twice in the last few weeks, I have used the term “Elder Mediation” and the person hearing it, perhaps for the first time, has assumed it meant something completely different from its true meaning.
Elder Mediation is not a term for mediating disputes that occur between two or more elderly people, about whatever topics that might be the basis for a dispute. That kind of conflict resolution can happen, of course, but it isn’t what Elder Mediation is about.
Though the term may be imperfect, it has been adopted for the area of mediation that deals with the issues related to elderly people and aging that can cause conflict for them and the people who care about them. Elder Mediation recognizes that issues around aging often provide challenges that are both unique to a particular family or group but also very common, and almost universal, as we age. That recognition allows trained Elder Mediators to develop a focus and expertise about these issues, and to develop a pool of resources (agencies, professionals, information sources) that can help elders and loved ones meet these challenges as effectively as possible.
