Mediation is a confidential, private process in which a neutral third-party guides disputing parties in a constructive conversation—essentially an assisted negotiation. The mediator helps the parties express their positions and proposals, listens thoughtfully to each and clarifies issues in dispute, searches for solutions that address the needs of all and works toward a fair, workable settlement to the dispute. The parties themselves are the decision-makers. This attribute, known among professional mediators as self-determination, is what makes mediation unique.