Mental illness and labeling in mediation
In: Mediation quarterly: journal of the Academy of Family Mediators, Volume 8, Issue 2, p. 151-159
AbstractThis article concerns mediation issues involving the labeling of mental illness. I am not advocating the involvement of mental patients in mediation; but when one or both parents arrive at court‐mandated child custody mediation with mental problems, certain issues need to be addressed. Scheffs (1984) work on labeling can be used to understand some of the myths of mental illness: stereotyping leads to bias, diminishes neutrality, and distorts interpretations. Many stereotypes evolved from individualistic approaches. A system approach may be more productive. Family system theory views the parts (individual members) in the context of the whole (the family and community). Labeling theory views the larger whole of belief systems. I use a composite case example to illustrate my point. Several implications concerning power positions, mediator bias, and "insight" follow from my analysis.