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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260917T080000
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UID:62358-1789632000-1790353800@understandinginconflict.org
SUMMARY:40-Hour Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training (NY and CA CLE Eligible)
DESCRIPTION:September 17–19 and 24–25\, 2026 | Online (Zoom) \n8:00 AM – 4:30 PM PST | 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM CST | 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM EST \nAll sessions include breaks throughout the day \nTo register\, scroll to the bottom of this page. \nAre you the person others turn to when they are in conflict?\nWhether you mediate disputes professionally or want to improve how you support meaningful conversations – in families\, workplaces\, or communities – this immersive\, in-person training will provide you with the essential skills\, structure\, and confidence to navigate conflict with greater clarity and connection. \nWhat You’ll Learn\nGrounded in the Understanding-Based model from Challenging Conflict\, this training focuses on: \n\nPositive Neutrality – supporting all parties without taking sides\nThe Loop of Understanding – building empathy and connection through active listening\nCreative Options – crafting solutions that meet deeper needs and interests\nA Foundation for the Future – enabling lasting\, self-determined agreements\n\n \nWho Should Attend?\nThis training is designed for anyone whose personal or professional life involves guiding others through conflict\, whether formally or informally. Our participants consistently report that this program reshapes not only how they approach conflict\, but how they understand communication\, decision-making\, and relationship dynamics. Here’s how this training applies to different professional roles: \nMediators and Conflict Resolution Professionals \nWhether you are newly exploring mediation or seeking to deepen your practice\, this training offers a hands-on approach that moves beyond traditional tools and techniques. You will learn how to facilitate conversations where parties truly understand each other – often for the first time – and co-create durable\, meaningful resolutions. \nLawyers\, Collaborative Professionals\, and Ombuds \nFor legal professionals\, \, this model shifts the focus from advocacy and positioning to understanding and informed choice. You will learn how to support clients in engaging constructively with conflict while still addressing legal realities – without relying on control\, pressure\, or adversarial dynamics. \nHuman Resources Leaders\, Managers\, and Nonprofit Staff \nIf you are responsible for managing people\, teams\, or organizational culture\, this training provides a vital toolkit for navigating interpersonal tension\, staff grievances\, and sensitive conversations. The Understanding-Based model helps you foster clarity\, empathy\, and accountability – leading to more resilient teams and healthier workplace dynamics. \nExecutive Coaches\, Consultants\, and Educators \nWhen your work centers on growth\, transformation\, and leadership\, conflict is often just beneath the surface. This training equips you with a new lens and skill set for working with clients or groups who are stuck in disagreement\, misalignment\, or tension. You will be better prepared to support breakthroughs – whether in strategic planning\, coaching conversations\, or facilitation work. \nAnyone Seeking a More Meaningful Way to Work with Conflict \nYou do not need to be a professional mediator to benefit from this training. If you are the person people come to when there is tension – in your family\, workplace\, or community – or if you want to better understand and navigate conflict in your own life\, this training offers a practical\, compassionate framework that will change how you listen\, speak\, and relate to others. \nProgram Format\nThis online training features a mix of short presentations\, live demonstrations\, and small group role plays in  full-length practice mediations. You’ll have the chance to practice in a safe\, supportive environment with real-time feedback and coaching from experienced trainers. \nSchedule Overview\nEach day is 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM PST | 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM CST | 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM EST\, with breaks throughout the day. Participants are encouraged to log in at 7:50 AM PST to troubleshoot Zoom and settle in to Canvas\, our e-learning platform. \nAbout the Center for Understanding in Conflict and Our Model\nThe Center for Understanding in Conflict (CUC) was founded over four decades ago by Gary Friedman and Jack Himmelstein\, who pioneered a radical approach to mediation and conflict resolution. Drawing from their experiences as lawyers\, educators\, and people impacted by conflict themselves\, they developed what is now known as the Understanding-Based model. \nThis approach challenges the traditional win-lose\, adversarial frameworks that dominate many legal and organizational systems. Instead of seeing conflict as something to suppress\, manage\, or solve through external authority\, the Understanding-Based model embraces it as an opportunity for deeper human connection which supports the impulse to work together towards mutually beneficial solutions. . \nAt its heart\, the model is grounded in four core principles: \n\nUnderstanding – cultivating deep awareness of oneself\, others\, and the conflict itself\nResponsibility – inviting parties to take ownership of the process and outcome\nWorking Together – choosing dialogue and direct engagement over separation or shuttle diplomacy\nGoing Under the Conflict – exploring what lies beneath positions to get to meaning\, emotion\, and deeper needs\n\nSince the 1980s\, thousands of professionals – including mediators\, lawyers\, coaches\, therapists\, managers\, and community leaders – have trained with the Center. Many have incorporated the Understanding-Based model into their lives and work\, transforming not just how they navigate conflict\, but how they relate to others and themselves. \nThis training is a continuation of that legacy. It’s more than just a skills workshop – it’s an invitation to participate in a movement that honors empathy\, autonomy\, and connection at the center of conflict resolution. \nProgram Trainers\nIvan Alter is an attorney and mediator with offices in Westchester County\, New York\, and New York City. Practicing law since 1993\, Ivan traded in an early career spent litigating complex commercial matters and high-conflict matrimonial cases in favor of a more rewarding practice using the understanding-based model. \nIvan left the courtroom for good twenty years ago and today empowers his clients to design satisfying resolutions to their conflicts through mediation and collaborative law. He is a graduate of Brandeis University (B.A.)\, Brooklyn Law School (J.D.)\, and Columbia University (M.S.). Having participated in countless training programs and symposia\, Ivan currently serves on the board of directors for the Center for Understanding in Conflict and the New York Association of Collaborative Professionals. \nMelanie Rowen is a mediator and conflict coach who believes in the power of understanding-based conflict resolution to transform our world. She frequently trains individuals and groups on conflict resolution skills with the Center for Understanding in Conflict and in other settings. \nMelanie has worked in professional development for many years\, including previously as the Associate Director for Public Interest & Public Sector Programs at Berkeley Law and in attorney development at Latham & Watkins LLP. In her law practice career\, Melanie litigated civil rights cases\, including marriage equality\, employment discrimination\, issues involving transgender and gender non-conforming youth and their families and issues facing LGBTQI elders\, at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. Melanie’s mediation\, coaching and training practice focuses on improving dynamics where ongoing relationships are essential\, including workplace teams\, family and community organizational settings. \nCosts\nThe program training fee is $1\,485  \nA deposit of $500.00 is necessary to secure registration. \n*Financial support and group discounts may be available for training fees. Please contact us at admin@understandinginconflict.org for details or for any questions regarding logistics. Individual request for financial support may be submitted here: https://forms.gle/Kfh4qyhjzVGejDYS8 \nCancellation Policy\n\nCancel 4 or more weeks before: Refund minus $250 fee\nCancel 2 – 4 weeks before: 50% refund unless your spot is filled\nLess than 2 weeks: No refund unless we find a replacement\n\nContinuing Legal Education\nCalifornia  \nThe 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. \nNew York \nIn New York\, The Mediation Intensive Training will fulfill 40 NY CLE 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. \nApproved under Part 146 by the NYS Unified Court System’s Office of ADR Programs. This course meets the 24-Hour requirement for Initial Mediation Training.* \nPhoto and Video Notice\nPhotos or videos may be taken for promotional use. If you prefer not to appear in any media\, just let us know – we will fully honor your request. \nAdditional Notes\nRegistrations received fewer than 72 hours before the program will be accepted at the discretion of the training team due to role-play and logistics needs. \nFor questions\, contact us at admin@understandinginconflict.org \n*Note that final placement on any court roster is at the discretion of the local Administrative Judge and participation in a course that is approved does not guarantee placement on a local court roster. Pursuant to Part 146\, court-based mediation rosters require both a combination of mediation training and experience mediating. Acceptance on court rosters depends on a court’s need for mediators at any given time and may include a court’s need for mediators with specific case-type training or experience and mediation experience. \n**Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’
URL:https://understandinginconflict.org/event/40-hour-mediation-and-conflict-resolution-skills-training-online/
LOCATION:ONLINE
CATEGORIES:Basic mediation,Online Training,Traditional Mediation
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260922T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260922T130000
DTSTAMP:20260914T194527
CREATED:20260826T192641Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T193302Z
UID:63426-1790078400-1790082000@understandinginconflict.org
SUMMARY:Beyond the Shield: Working Through Resistance with Understanding
DESCRIPTION:When parties in conflict shut down\, attack\, or dig in their heels\, it is rarely an act of ill intent but rather it is a defensive response to perceived threat\, loss of autonomy\, or unacknowledged needs. Traditional approaches often attempt to bypass or override this resistance\, but the Understanding-Based Model offers a more transformative path: going through it. \nIn this 60-minute webinar\, conflict professionals will learn how to identify subtle\, non-verbal\, and verbal indicators of self-protection and turn those moments into breakthroughs. Grounded in the principle that the parties closest to the conflict are best equipped to resolve it\, this session focuses on using active self-awareness and core understanding-based tools to address resistance at its root. Presenters Alison Beck\, Kathy Campbell and Stephanie Tobosa-Smit will cover noticing defensiveness\, tools for working through resistance\, and demonstrate practical applications. \nKey Takeaways & Learning Objectives: \n\nSpot Hidden Defenses: Learn to recognize early indicators of defensiveness.\nAllow and Lean Into Tension: Shift from reflexively managing or suppressing tension to holding space for it\, allowing underlying concerns to surface naturally.\nUse the Loop of Understanding: Use looping specifically targeted at reflecting defensive emotions and underlying values.\nProtect Party Autonomy: Refuse the urge to coerce or force agreement\, help parties regain agency and take genuine ownership of both process and outcome.\n\nYour Training Team: \nAlison Beck is a mediator\, coach\, and collaborative attorney. In her private practice\, Resolve Forward\, she helps families and individuals navigate transitions and resolve conflict through cooperative out-of-court processes. Alison’s approach is guided by the belief that when parties are informed and empowered to make their own choices\, solutions are lasting and emotional and financial health is preserved. \nAlison has extensive training in mediation and collaborative law including foundational and advanced courses with The Center for Understanding in Conflict and Mosten Mediation Training. Through her work designing trainings and continuing education for mediators and conflict professionals\, Alison has spent hundreds of hours in courses and groups with conflict professionals from all over the world discussing common challenges\, tools\, and approaches to resolving conflict. She is a graduate of the Center for Understanding in Conflict Teacher Training Program and is certified to teach programs in the Empathetic Workplace method. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and serving clients throughout California\, Alison is a graduate of the University of California\, Berkeley (J.D.) and the University of California\, Los Angeles (B.A.). \nKathy Campbell has been a practicing family law attorney since 2002 and helps tailor outcomes to each families’ unique needs. As a Certified Family Law Specialist who stays out of courtrooms\, she uses Understanding-Based Mediation and Powerful Non-Defensive Communication to help Bay Area families through their divorce. Kathy is drawn to work with LGBTQI+ families\, especially when gender-related conflict is part of the conversation. \nKathy served as Collaborative Practice California President from 2023-2024. She has also served on the Boards of the San Mateo and Santa Clara County Collaborative Practice groups. She completed the International Academy of Collaborative Professional’s 2021-2022 Leadership Academy. She frequently presents at family law conferences and started a collaborative practice mentor group to help other professionals develop their conflict resolution skills. Recently she taught her first conflict-resolution class to high school students and expects to continue sharing at other Bay Area high schools. \nStephanie Tobosa-Smit is an immigration attorney and mediator who brings a thoughtful\, human-centered approach to helping people navigate complex disputes through dialogue\, empathy\, and self-determination. Her hands-on experience spans community and court-annexed mediation\, including serving on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s ADR Panel since 2024 and conducting weekly small claims mediations with The Congress of Neutrals from 2023 to 2024. \nGrounded in the Understanding-Based model\, Stephanie trained with the Center for Understanding in Conflict (CUC)\, beginning with their core 40-hour Conflict Resolution training in 2022. In 2024\, she completed CUC’s 9-month Mediation Teacher Training\, joining a dedicated community of educators passing on the principles of understanding-based conflict resolution. \n*Financial support and group discounts may be available for training fees. Please contact us at admin@understandinginconflict.org for details or for any questions regarding logistics. Individual request for financial support may be submitted here: https://forms.gle/Kfh4qyhjzVGejDYS8 \n\n**Please select desired ticket and quantity using the +/- feature before clicking ‘Get Tickets.’
URL:https://understandinginconflict.org/event/beyond-the-shield-working-through-resistance-with-understanding/
LOCATION:ONLINE
CATEGORIES:CUC Connect Member Event,Live Training,Online Training,Webinars
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