Equipoise is the mediator’s art of holding and balancing competing interests, and looking at all things present before making decisions or recommendations. Maintaining a state of equipoise helps the mediator slow down, notice what is being said and what is not being said, needs expressed and not expressed, and notice the emotions expressed or withheld.
Equipoise supports the mediator getting close to each person and really understanding their feelings and experiences, while maintaining the ability to step back and see both sides and maintain a professional stance to the case.
It’s important for all people in the mediation process to have, experience, and express their emotions and feelings. These are usually very important pieces of information for everyone. If someone is afraid, angry, sad, feeling rejected, those usually indicated deep needs that cannot be ignored. Equipoise helps the mediator feel these experiences with the client without becoming consumed by the experience.
Sometimes people in mediation get frustrated and feel like they need to have everything or nothing. These are natural feelings, but usually not very productive. Maintaining a state of equipoise helps the mediator be with the client while they are having these polar opposite feelings while alternatives can be explored.
Click here for a full article on equipoise at the Conflict Science Institute (CSI), including how it can include DMM attachment principles. Mark wrote the first Equipoise article in 2012, and updated it in 2020 for the CSI article.