GROUP RESTORATIVE MEDIATION
When the whole team is fractured.
A structured group process for 4–25 people that rebuilds trust and shared purpose.
Some conflicts can't be resolved between two or three people — because the fracture runs through the whole team. Different people have taken sides, withdrawn, or quietly contributed to a dynamic that has become entrenched. Morale has dropped. Productivity has suffered. And leadership is unsure where to start.
The Group Restorative Process is a structured, facilitated intervention designed specifically for this situation. It is not a workshop or a team-building exercise. It is a genuine conflict resolution process — one that addresses what is actually happening, rather than working around it.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Is this the right for your team?
This process is well suited when:
- A team of 4–25 people is experiencing entrenched conflict, significant dysfunction, or a serious breakdown in trust and communication
- The conflict involves multiple people or factions, rather than two or three individuals
- Morale, engagement, or productivity has deteriorated noticeably
- Leadership has tried other interventions without lasting result
- The organisation wants a genuine resolution — not just a reset day or a team-building activity
THE DIFFERENCE
This is not a team-building day
Many organisations respond to team conflict with workshops, away-days, or facilitated sessions that address the surface but leave the underlying dynamics intact. People leave feeling temporarily better — and return to the same patterns within weeks.
The Group Restorative Process is different because it begins before anyone is in a room together. Ruth meets privately with every member of the team first — giving each person a genuine, confidential opportunity to name what is actually happening. This changes everything about what becomes possible in the group session.
The combined process is explicitly a no-blame environment. It is not an opportunity for people to publicly criticise or call out each other. It is an opportunity for every person to self-reflect, acknowledge their own contribution to the team dynamic, reconnect to each other's value, and collectively identify what needs to change.
THE PROCESS AT A GLANCE
What the process involves
1. Individual meetings with every team member
Before the group convenes, Ruth meets privately with each person — typically one to two hours each. These conversations are confidential. They give every team member the opportunity to speak honestly about their experience, raise concerns anonymously, and begin the process of self-reflection the group session depends on. By the time the group comes together, Ruth has a complete picture of the team's dynamics — and every individual has already begun to shift.
2. The combined group session
The whole team comes together in a carefully structured environment. Ruth guides the group through a sequence of questions and conversations that surface what is and isn't working, allow each person to reflect on their own role, reconnect the team to its shared values, and identify concrete, agreed changes in how the team will work together.
3. A shared statement of intention
The process concludes with the team co-authoring a written agreement about how they will operate going forward — a document the team creates together and therefore genuinely owns.
FEEDBACK FROM CLIENTS
In their own words
"Thank you Ruth for successfully leading and completing such a difficult process. I thank you for your sensitivity, eloquence, leadership and methodical approach in resolving issues within a large group. Your process has improved the dynamics within our faculty significantly, and I now have hope that this new connection within our team will only get better."
Client - Group Mediation - Education Sector
"The process was fantastic. Ruth is a very professional person but also willing to validate feelings and empathise with both parties. Ruth's framework is great — I have already recommended her to colleagues and other organisations who might benefit from her intervention."
Participant - Restorative Mediation
"I am writing to say a big thank you for assisting in the mediation between two of my team. It has made a big difference within our organisation and the positive results we have had since."
Client - Restorative Mediation
"I’m enjoying the relief 'post the storm' of this conflict that the mediation with you has brought. I have never experienced a mediation like this and I was very moved by its many layers of value. Thank you again for your time last week and your care, skill and commitment to holding us and the process with safety and integrity."
Participant - Restorative Mediation
WHAT NEXT?
How to engage Ruth
The first step is a confidential conversation with Ruth about your team's situation — what has been happening, how long it has been building, and whether the Group Restorative Process is the right intervention at this point. Ruth will also advise whether any individual mediations should run alongside or before the group process.
Ruth works with teams across all sectors and organisation sizes. She is based in Byron Bay, NSW, and available nationally. The process is designed for groups of 4–25 people.