A new article in the Journal of the International Ombuds Association explains how Ombuds can use research from neuroscience to work with visitors. The authors are Francisco Espejo-Elgueta, the Regional Ombudsperson for the World Health Organization European Region Office; Saner Ahmedov, a former UN mediator and conflict resolution specialist; Laure Esteveny, the former CERN Ombuds; and Lee Raymond [bio unavailable].
Here is the article abstract:
When the classical approaches used by informal conflict resolution practitioners - ombuds and mediators - are challenged by intense emotions or a rigid state of mind, insights from neuroscience can help visitors, or parties to a mediation, shift from reactive to reflective mode, and use their brain rather than be used by it. The factors that put the brain into reactive mode – “the scared brain” - and what is needed to help it relax and reflect in new ways, are set out in the book by David Rock, “Your Brain at Work.” Rock developed an acronym, SCARF® - Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness – to encompass the five elements that lead us to perceive a social situation as either threatening or rewarding, causing our brains to generate either a stress-laden “away” response or a comfortable “toward” response. This paper sets out the authors’ understanding of how the SCARF® model can be applied by ombuds and mediators to help visitors move out of reactive mode - especially when their brains are “kidnapped” by intense emotions because of a perceived threat. A “scared brain” can be calmed down by applying the SCARF® model, with the result that the visitor will be more open to operate in reflective mode, which is the precursor to helping them to develop new insights about how to better address their situation.
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