ABSTRACT
To construct a different approach to mediation practice, we have to begin with the underlying basis on which practice rests and reexamine our views of both what conflict is and what the ideal response to conflict should be. Rethinking the problem-solving orientation starts by questioning the premise that conflicts need to be viewed as problems in the first place. A different premise would suggest that disputes can be viewed not as problems at all but as opportunities for moral growth and transformation. This different view is the transformative orientation to conflict.
