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Hello Friends and Supporters,
This month, we begin celebrating 40 years of conflict resolution education, featuring an impact story with New York attorney Barry Berkman, a review of Len Riskin's new book Managing Conflict Mindfully, and a deep dive into our Teacher Training program and efforts to advance the understanding-based model, through an interview with Catherine Conner on The Other Chair podcast, with an invitation to a Q&A for those looking to learn more.
SCPI has also begun registering participants this month, new Working Creatively with Conflict 40-hour dates have been announced, and webinars for the rest of the year are scheduled with an invitation for all to join us for a Town Hall in December with Gary and Catherine. We also invite feedback from our CUC Connect members on what topics they would like to learn more about during webinars next year.
As the year turns the final corner, we are genuinely excited by the many opportunities coming to support those looking to bring parties together through conflict resolution and education. Thank you for allowing us to join you on your journey, and we look forward to seeing many of you soon.
Best,
James Dykeman
Executive Director
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FROM UNDERSTANDING TO IMPACT | |
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Barry Berkman reflects on a career spent bringing together parties in conflict and the understanding-based model's effect on his life
“I took the 40-hour course and was caught up in it from the beginning,” Berkman said. “I loved the teaching style, and by the end, I thought it was the best course I had ever taken. I found so much value in it – not just learning about mediation and how much I didn’t know – but, without pressing it, the course takes you into yourself.”
Berkman found friendship and mentorship with the trainers and kept returning for advanced courses, suggesting that the Center bring the training to New York.
“I helped them get organized in the beginning,” Berkman said. “I knew all the people working in the field then and called them up, urging them to take this terrific course. Even if they litigated, it could be valuable.”
The Center began holding programs in New York, bringing mediation training to learn alternatives to litigation through the understanding-based model.
Berkman then became immersed in conflict resolution and liked it so much that he would take every mediation-type seminar he could find, exposing himself to many different models and leaders in the field.
“I took several courses, and there was value in all of them,” Berkman said. “Even so, the quality and content of the Center’s training was superb. There was a meta-aspect to it for me. Of all the techniques I had learned – which were pretty good – what resonated with me was the sense of what it meant to be a good mediator. Before that, I often felt stuck in mediation and asked myself what Gandhi or Abraham Lincoln would do – both enormously gifted mediators of their times. After training with the Center, I began to ask myself what Jack or Gary would do in these situations.”
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This year, the Center celebrates 40 years of bringing together people in conflict through understanding-based conflict resolution education. We are committed to expanding accessibility, evaluating, and adapting programming to be more inclusive and equitable while preparing learners to meet the complex needs for resolving conflict across all sectors of our society, at home and abroad. | |
APPLICATIONS FOR 2024 TEACHER TRAINING OPEN | |
The Teacher Training program will prepare participants to offer trainings wherever they are drawn. Please join us November 01, 2023 at 9AM PST for a Q&A with Catherine Conner to learn more. | |
Participants in the Teacher Training cohort will:
- Learn how to teach CUC’s model, including the Center’s teaching style and Understanding-Based principles, concepts, and tools.
- Work with CUC’s most experienced teachers, Gary Friedman and Catherine Conner.
- Practice delivering Understanding-Based conflict resolution content.
- Through self-reflection practices, explore and bring their authentic selves to their teaching.
- Use various instructional methods and formats, informed by pedagogical best practices, to hold training space for all learners.
- Understand the logistics of planning and executing a training.
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Managing Conflict Mindfully: Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Leonard Riskin
Managing Conflict Mindfully offers readers an insightful and practical guide to approaching conflicts with a fresh perspective. Drawing on his extensive experience as a mediator and scholar, Riskin presents a compelling argument for the power of mindfulness in transforming how we engage with conflicts, providing wisdom for anyone seeking to navigate disputes constructively and consciously. Through academic rigor and an approachable writing style, he makes complex concepts digestible for readers of all backgrounds while artfully weaving personal anecdotes, case studies, and practical exercises to create an engaging and relatable guide for conflict resolution practitioners.
Riskin begins by laying the theoretical foundation for mindful conflict management, gradually introducing more advanced concepts and techniques. This progression allows readers to develop a solid understanding of the principles before diving into the practical applications. Additionally, each chapter concludes with thought-provoking reflection questions, allowing readers to internalize and integrate the material. He also introduces the concept of “mindful awareness” as the cornerstone of conflict management. He contends that by honing our ability to observe our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without immediate judgment, we can break free from automatic reactions and make more conscious choices.
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REGISTRATION FOR SCPI 2024 BEGINS THIS MONTH | |
CUC invites you to consider joining the next introductory cohort of SCPI, a six-month, online program, beginning in January 2024, where conflict resolution professionals commit to exploring together practices of self-reflection that are constructive for ourselves and productive for our clients. | |
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Learning to Teach Conflict Resolution with Guest Catherine Conner
Catherine Conner, director and trainer at the Center for Understanding in Conflict and an attorney practicing mediation and collaborative practice in Santa Rosa, California, joins The Other Chair to discuss the evolution of the 2022 Teacher Training program, the impact that trainers can have on making a difference in the world, and plans for the next cohort.
The Teacher Training program is for those motivated to develop their ability to teach Understanding-Based conflict resolution skills to others.
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Want to share your experience bringing together parties in conflict? Contact james@understandinginconflict.org | |
Our flagship experiential certificate training program centered around the Understanding-Based Model. | |
Realistic simulations, in which participants work through mediations from beginning to end, with coaching from our teachers, offer participants the chance to hone their skills and experience the emotional challenges faced by parties in dispute. Participants describe these different learning modes and their interplay as enjoyable, engaging, and rewarding. | |
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2023-24 Training Dates
West Coast - Green Gulch, CA
November 15 - 19
Online
Jan. 26 & 27 and Feb. 1 - 3
East Coast - Rye, NY
Announcing Soon
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Learn about the many possibilities for conflict resolution and mediation practitioners to integrate the understanding-based approach into existing practices, kick-start new careers, and assist diverse sectors of society while fostering empathy, advocating looping, and encouraging transformative dialogue to address conflicts in creative ways.
Join Catherine Conner and Caitlin Meredith to explore the versatility of this approach in corporate, legal, educational, and community settings. Whether you seek personal growth, professional advancement, or societal impact, this webinar offers invaluable insights for effective conflict resolution and mediation.
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Help people to move beyond their fixed positions by coaching them to explore and describe what really matters — their underlying interests — in order to unlock creative and mutually beneficial solutions.
Join Katherine Miller and Melanie Rowen to gain practical insights into working with interests effectively, both to uncover and then to hold on to them through the negotiation, helping the parties to broaden and deepen their perspective on what they really need and want.
CLE ELIGIBLE IN CALIFORNIA
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There is no cost to attend this event, although we do ask that you register. | |
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As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to a town hall webinar experience to collectively explore personal and professional interests, address common concerns, and ignite a passion for applying understanding-based practices.
Join Catherine Conner and Gary Friedman and be part of an interactive discussion designed to help people find possibilities for themselves and others in the face of impossibility and gain invaluable insights to embark on a journey of successful conflict resolution and mediation with a renewed commitment to fostering harmonious relationships and creating positive change.
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Support the Center for Understanding in Conflict with a CUC Connect Membership and enjoy free interactive webinars, training discounts, and more! | | |
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CUC Connect Members
October Featured Webinar
What role does the law play in conflict resolution and how can mediators bring it into the rooms in such a way that it doesn’t take over the discussion? In this webinar, Katherine Miller discusses both why to bring the law in and how to do it in such a way that it doesn’t become the elephant in the room.
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