Abstract:

Family mediation is an interactional encounter in which there are three or more participants. In their institutional role, mediators are required to conduct themselves in a manner which is neutral regarding outcome and impartial regarding process. The discourse often includes the needs of absent others, that is the children of the couple.
This paper draws on pragmatics and applies the pragmatic of discourse roles and complex illocutionary acts to the language of family mediators and their clients. It focuses on a discourse role which I have termed ‘reflecter’ and its relationship to mediator neutrality and impartiality.

Author: Chris Hill