WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR TRAINING & CONSULTATION PROGRAMS?

We find solutions to your training needs…

The majority of our trainers have Master’s degrees or above—they have not only the education, but also practical experience in the topics they train. At IAI, we are passionate about our services as well as educating our clients in the skills to assist them to live, learn, work and relate to others at optimum levels of functioning.

Our programs are informative and highly participative and include interactive discussions, Q & A, experiential exercises, and role play components. Trainers utilize every mode of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile) to teach practical skills and principles which participants can apply to their own personal life or profession.

“The negotiation skills I learned in this mediation training saved this company 2 million dollars!” --Procurement Director

PREMIER MEDIATION TRAINING ORGANIZATION

For 20 years, Innovative Alternatives, Inc. has been training mediators in some of the most cutting edge applications and components of mediation on the market today. This training is appropriate for enhancing one’s personal skills in conflict resolution and assisting others—even children or employees—in resolving conflicts productively. What is different about our model of mediation? Why should you take our mediation training?

1. We very seldom ‘caucus’ or separate our clients in different rooms as the majority of mediators do these days. Why do they do that? They make more money because it takes more time. It also takes very little skill to go from room to room and repeat what others say. You figure it out. We possess the skill to keep people together to solve their own problems in a safe and effective process. We know how to handle strong emotion in conflicts. We have never had an incident of a conflict getting out of control in 20 years of practice. Caucus costs more and results in substandard agreements because the participants do not feel the ownership of their agreements. Don’t worry, if you learn the skills to keep people together, you can always caucus when it is really warranted, but you won’t have the skills to keep people together if you only learn caucus mediation.
2. Our Family Mediation Model is unique to Innovative Alternatives, Inc. and includes ‘Reconciliation’ processes instead of just ‘divorce and custody’ processes as some ‘Family Mediation Trainings’ do. Additionally, IAI has been mediating Parenting Plans for 20 years—long before there was legislation requiring these in divorces where children are involved.
3. Our trainers have more than a decade of experience and our founder has two decades of experience in what she is training.
4. We do not do ‘marathon mediation’ for 8, 12, 14 hours at a time. There are horror stories of mediators at other firms locking people in rooms and telling them that they cannot come out without an agreement. This is simply abusive. People eventually get tired and give in to agreements they regret later. Buyer’s remorse. The mediator may claim a high ‘agreement rate, but those agreements fall apart later because they were not real in the first place.
5. Our mediators never force, coerce or suggest to our clients on any element of their agreement. We train mediators to keep themselves out of the issues, as much as is humanly possible, by following appropriate technique. If the parties cannot come up with something they both or all feel is fair, balanced, realistic, feasible, concrete and specific—as in the case where one person wants to save a marriage and another does not--there is an agreement not to agree on an issue, but in almost all of these cases, there is still an increased level of understanding attained and less chance of retribution and sabotage later.
6. Additionally, IAI has created ‘innovative’ models of mediation that no other mediation firm possesses unless they received it from IAI. Why go to a student for your lesson when you can learn from the professor?

Types of Mediation Training Offered By IAI:

• Community Based Mediation Training - 40 Hours The prerequisite for all advanced/specialty trainings)
• Family Mediation Training - 40 Hours (2 days of Family Reconciliation & 3 days of Divorce & Custody Models)
• Personnel Grievance Mediation Training - 32 Hours
• Peer Mediation Training for Schools - 24 Hours
• Victim Offender Mediation Training - 24 Hours

See our Mediation page for more information on our style and philosophy of mediation.

Trainings for Businesses

“The customer service training taught me so many people skills, that I feel I am ready for any interaction with any customer. I do not need to take things personally even if they attack me for something I never did, and I can teach my staff these simple skills as well. First rate!” --Manager

Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers a variety of services and training options for business. We are willing to custom design trainings, but our specialties are in the following areas:

• Training & Implementation of Corporate Mediation Programs
• Multicultural Mediation As Diversity Training
• Conflict Resolution Skills for the Workplace
• Creating A Positive Work Culture
• Managing Difficult People
• The Meaningful Employee Evaluation
• Team Building That Means Something
• Customer Service

See our Corporate/Small Business Service page for more services in addition to our training offerings.

Trainings for Schools

“[Peer Mediation Training] Best training I’ve received in 17 years of teaching….” –Teacher

Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers a variety of services and training options for students, faculty and administrators. All the offerings for businesses are also available for the school or school district personnel and/or management. We are willing to custom design trainings, but our specialties are in the following areas:

• Peer Mediation Training & Program Implementation
• Operation Bully-Proofing Your School
• Conflict Resolution Training
• Recognizing Trauma in Students
• Classroom Management Through Mediation Techniques
• Working With ADD & ADHD in the Classroom
• Sexual and Physical Abuse Issues in Students

See our Violence Prevention for Schools page for more services in addition to our training offerings.

Trainings for Churches

“The skills I learned have completely changed the manner in which I approach ministry, they are Biblical and they work. I know how to help others through very difficult situations, and if the situation is very complicated, I refer it to IAI!” –Local Pastor

Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers a variety of services and training options for pastors, staff and members. All the offerings for businesses are also available for the church personnel and/or members. We are willing to custom design trainings, but our specialties are in the following areas:

• Christian Conflict Resolution: Biblical Principles for Relationships
• Forgiveness is Essential To Living
• Maintaining Biblical Behavior in Sinful People
• Implementation of Lay Mediation Ministries
• Ethics and Practice in Biblical Counseling Programs
• Recognizing & Addressing Mental Health Issues In Members
• Relieving the Counseling Burden from Your Pastors and Leaders

See our Ministry Assistance Program and Faith Based Services pages for more services in addition to our training offerings.

Trainings for the Public

“After we made agreements in our Reconciliation Mediation, it was important to have the skills to keep those agreements. This [Family Conflict Resolution] training provided not only the keys to hearing each other’s meaning when we speak, but also taught us to speak in such a way that we can be heard and avoid escalating a situation. We will use these skills not only with each other, but also with our children, in the workplace and in the ministries in which we serve in our church. We highly recommend IAI and its programs!”

Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers a variety of services and training options for the public. All the offerings listed above may be requested in open public trainings as well as on-site at organizations. Feel free to call and request that your name be placed on a waiting list for specific offerings. We do our best to meet community needs.

• Family Conflict Resolution Training
• Dealing with Mental Illness in the Family
• The Meaningful Marriage—How To Create It & Maintain It
• Overcoming Childhood Trauma
• Supporting the Traumatized Family Member
• Crime Victim Recovery
• Parenting Classes
• Parenting After Divorce From Separate Households
• Grief & Loss Stages—How to Navigate The Worst Time of Your Life
• Families Surviving in the Wake of a Suicide
• Families Surviving in the Wake of a Homicide

Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers training solutions that work!