March 13 – 17, 2024

The venue requires that participants have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations at least two weeks prior to the start of this program. Boosters are not required.

To register, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Are you responsible for helping people work through conflict?

Do you manage important conversations between clients, employees, team members, volunteers or other people?

Do you want to improve your ability to facilitate conversations of consequence?

Do you want to learn to mediate or enhance your conflict resolution skills?

In this gold standard mediation training, learn how to support parties working through conflict or engaging in other important conversations in a different way.  Our Understanding-Based model focuses on guiding parties to make knowing and informed choices together in a  respectful manner.  Highlights of our basic training, Working Creatively with Conflict, include:

• Positive neutrality –supporting all parties without taking sides
• The Loop of Understanding – enhancing understanding and empathy
• Creative Options — innovating to meet differing needs and interests
• A Foundation for the Future — building the groundwork for the parties to make effective and lasting decisions together now and in the future

Who Will Benefit From This Training?

Our participants include mediators, lawyers, collaborative professionals, business consultants, executive coaches, managers and supervisors, human resources professionals, ombuds-people, non-profit staff, and other people whose work will be enhanced by  increased skills in conflict resolution.  Participants report it is one of the top mediation programs they have taken.

What is the Format of the Training?

This hands-on in person training features briefings on the core skills of the Understanding Based Approach, followed by lively demonstrations and role-plays, all of which immerse participants in the learning. 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 modes of learning and their interplay as enjoyable as they are engaging and rewarding.

Who are the Trainers?

Catherine Conner

Catherine Conner has been a mediation and collaborative practice trainer since 2004. She is a frequent presenter at collaborative conferences and family law workshops. She authored Collaborative Practice Materials with Steven Neustadter and Margaret Anderson. Catherine Conner’s private practice focuses on family law alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, collaborative practice, and private judging. She graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1982 and is a founding partner of Conner, Lawrence, Rodney, Olhiser & Barrett, LLP. In 1992, Catherine became a Certified Family Law Specialist.  She has been honored as the recipient of the Rex Sater Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Eureka award by Collaborative Practice California and was the 2018 honoree for Careers of Distinction.  She was on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals from 2007-2014 and served as the President in 2013.

Hansa Patel is an attorney, mediator, and teacher.  As an attorney, Hansa zealously advocated for abused and neglected children or defended their parents’ rights in the San Francisco juvenile dependency court for fourteen years.  Hansa is passionate about serving the underprivileged community.  Feeling depleted by the court system, Hansa explored new ways to empower her clients to resolve conflict.  Mediation empowers Hansa’s clients to choose how they want to engage with conflict, co-create resolutions, and even transform a relationship.  In the USA, Canada, and Africa, Hansa teaches mediation, including integrating mindfulness skills into conflict resolution.  Hansa wants her clients to have the same tools she cultivates in her children:  a mindful approach to resolving challenges in life.

Caitlin Meredith, MPH, MA, is a mediator, coach and conflict skills trainer who works with individuals, organizations and families navigating transitions and conflict. Her curiosity about conflict led to 13 years with Doctors Without Borders in war zones in sub-Saharan Africa, and then to consulting in the criminal justice system. After working in the aftermath of big conflicts, she decided to learn more about preventing and working through disagreements through courageous conversations. This curiosity led her to the Center for Understanding in Conflict. In addition to her private practice, Caitlin volunteers her time as a mediator for community and court-based mediation programs in Colorado and California. She also teaches Core Mediation and Negotiation classes at the Monterey College of Law and co-hosts a podcast about women’s financial literacy. In all of her endeavors, Caitlin finds honest, clear and vulnerable communication to be the key ingredient for creating meaningful connections in our lives. Also, humor.

Registration and program schedule

Registration is between 1:45 and 2:15 on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, with the training beginning at 2:30 pm and running through 9:00 pm.  On Thursday and Friday, the sessions run from 9am – 9 pm (with ample breaks for meals and rest). On Saturday, the session runs 9am – 6pm. The program ends on Sunday, March 17, 2024 with a session from 9am – 12:15pm. Note that room check-in at the venue begins at 3PM.

Venue

The training is at Green Gulch Farm, a Zen Center and working farm in Muir Beach, CA. The accommodations at Green Gulch are very unique and set in a beautiful, rustic location. Most participants stay in the Japanese-inspired Guest House.  The gardens are lovely and the delicious vegetarian fare is served in a country style in a health conscious atmosphere.  Three delicious vegetarian meals a day are provided, as well as all-day coffee, tea, and snack service.  There is wireless internet available, but most cell phones do not have reception in Green Gulch proper.  Guests have access to an office phone for emergencies.  Participants should plan ahead for contact through the internet rather than by phone.

Costs

The program training fee is $1,485 plus a fee for the facility, lodging, and meals as follows:

• Private room* at Green Gulch:  $825, for a total of $2,310
• Shared double room at Green Gulch:  $675, for a total of $2,160
• Commuter for those not staying at Green Gulch:  $325, for a total of $1,810

Please note that the bathrooms are shared at Green Gulch. You can find more details about accommodation at Green Gulch by clicking here.

A 5 – 10% discount on the registration fee is available for our CUC Connect members. Click here for more information.

A deposit of $500.00 is necessary to secure registration.

*There are a limited number of private rooms.  After the available private rooms are reserved, we assign shared rooms.

COVID-19 Protocols

As of March 2022, Green Gulch has stipulated the following COVID-19 guidelines:

• Proof of full vaccination is required to come to Green Gulch

• Indoor mask protocol is subject to county guidelines.

• Guests will be asked to only use the indoor spaces and bathrooms assigned to their group.

• Meals will be served separately from residents and enjoyed either outdoors, in the meeting space, or in the private dining room.
• Upon arrival, participants will need to provide a negative COVID test, PCR or Lucira, taken within 24-48 hours of the start of the program. At home rapid tests are acceptable only to retest on the third day or in the mornings (for commuters).

Please note that these are subject to change and we will notify participants of any changes in protocols.

Cancellation Policy

Please note our cancellation policy: If you cancel 4 weeks or more prior to the program, we return your deposit minus a $250.00 administration fee. Between 4 and 2 weeks prior to the program, we retain 50% of the total cost of the program unless we are able to find a replacement for your seat, in which case we will refund the fee minus the $250.00 administration fee. There are no refunds for cancellations less than two weeks prior to the program unless we can find a replacement.

Is there Continuing Education Credit?

California 

The Center for Understanding in Conflict is an accredited provider of California Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California.  The Working Creatively with Conflict Training —appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys — will qualify for 32 participatory and 8 self study CA MCLE credit hours.

New York

In New York, The Mediation Intensive Training will fulfill 40 NY MCLE credit hours (6.5 Ethics credits; 19.5 Professional Practice credits; and 14 Skills credits).  For continuing legal education purposes, the Mediation Intensive Training is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.

The Center’s in-person and online training has been approved under Part 146 by the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of ADR Programs. (Please note that final placement on any court roster is at the discretion of the local Administrative Judge and participation in a course that is either approved or pending approval does not guarantee placement on a local court roster.)

For additional information, please email us at [email protected].

*Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’