Types or Categories of Conflict Resolution
There are various categories of conflict resolution employed in the United States that provide alternative ways of dealing with disagreements. People solve their conflicts in a variety of ways: through violence, litigation, yielding defeat, etc. Conflict resolution assumes that there are more practical options to resolving disputes. Conflict resolution, also called alternative dispute resolution, supports nonviolent dispute resolution through a variety of processes.
Various Categories of Conflict Resolution Used Within the United States:
Alternative Dispute Resolution
"Alternative dispute resolution" (ADR) refers to informal dispute resolution methods in which the conflicting parties meet with a third party professional to help them resolve their conflict in a manner that is less formal and often more consensual than traditional court system processes.
There are many types of ADR including mediation, arbitration, facilitation and mediation-arbitration. ADR is increasing in popularity as a means of reducing the overburdened court system. ADR can be used in a variety of environments where conflicts emerge including family, workplaces, governmental agencies, health care, and international settings.
Mediation
 Mediation is a formal process of negotiation which uses a third-party neutral who has limited or no authoritative decision-making power to facilitate communication among the people who are involved in the conflict or dispute. The mediator establishes the ground rules for the process, recognizes the needs and wants of each party and assists the people involved by focusing on the real issues of the dispute. An outcome is reached that is accepted and owned by the parties themselves as a result of the mediation process.
Peer Mediation
Peer Mediation is a process in which young people of the same age-group help to resolve disputes between their peers. The process of adults training and supervising young people to be mediators is being utilized in schools throughout the United States. Problems that may be addressed by peer mediation include verbal fighting, rumors, gossip, relationship difficulties, and cultural clashes.
Negotiation
 Negotiation is a discussion among two or more disputants who are trying to reach an agreement to their problem. Disputing parties recognize their conflict of interest and believe that expressing their influence will lead to a more favorable deal. Negotiations can occur between individuals, corporations, or international settings. Competitive and cooperative processes are used to maximize parties’ interests, issues, and positions. Compromises can be achieved reached through both positional and interest based bargaining.
Facilitation
 Facilitation is generally understood within the United States to be an alternative dispute resolution that uses a neutral person to assist a group in working more effectively together. The facilitator may be from within or outside of the group that is employing the facilitator’s services. Facilitators may work with small groups within agencies or with representatives of different agencies. Acting as process leaders, facilitators have no decision making authority nor do they provide additional content to the substance of the discussion. Facilitation operates from three basic principles: that valid information should be made available to all party members, that members are entitled to free and informed choice, and that members should make internal commitment to those choices. Good facilitators help groups to work more efficiently, focus on tasks, increase group creativity, and problem solving skills.
Arbitration
 [My Instructor] is a gem! The presentation of information and interaction was superb. She is an exceptional trainer. I have never been so engaged in a training session.
~~ Fred McGehan Arbitration is the private, judicial determination of a dispute, by an independent third party. Arbitration is used in a variety of settings from labor disputes to divorce settlements. There tend to be varying classifications of arbitration based on the setting in which it is used. The steps of formal arbitration are often linear and predictable.
In advance of the arbitration, the parties agree to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Cases that are arbitrated are generally resolved faster than conventional lawsuits due to less bureaucracy and court congestion. In arbitration, witnesses are placed under oath and written evidence is submitted, but the technical rules of procedure followed by a court do not apply. An arbitration hearing may involve the use of an individual arbitrator or a tribunal. A tribunal may consist of any number of arbitrators though some legal systems insist on an odd number for obvious reasons of wishing to avoid a tie.
Mediation-Arbitration
A hybrid approach that combines both methods of mediation and arbitration in a conflict resolution circumstance. Prior to the session, the disputing parties agree to try mediation first, but give the neutral third party the authority to make a decision if mediation is not successful.
Community Conferencing
A facilitator led planned discussion between community members. Community members may include offenders, victims, family, friends, etc. who have been impacted by a dispute or a crime. Using a script, the facilitator asks the community members to express their thoughts and emotions on how they were impacted by the dispute. Community members are also invited to share how they would like to resolve the matter.
Negotiated Rule-Making
 A voluntary procedure for drafting regulations that brings together those parties who would be impacted by a rule, including governmental agencies to reach agreement on some or all of its parts before the rule is formally written in proposal form. An impartial mediator is used to assist discussions between the participants, who function as a committee open to the public. Regulations drafted using this procedure tend to be more technically correct, clear and detailed, and less likely to be contested in litigation than are rules drafted by the agency alone without participation from outside parties. The Negotiated Rulemaking Act was passed in 1990 to persuade federal agencies to use this practical process.
Collaborative Law
Is a process that is referred for solving disputes in which the lawyers commit to reaching a settlement without using litigation. Disputants hire two separate attorneys who then work in a collaborative style to help their clients reach an agreement. It is largely used in Divorce and child custody disputes.
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