Welcome to the Center for Understanding in Conflict

We have over 40 years of experience training thousands of conflict resolution professionals built on a revolutionary understanding-based approach to bringing together parties in conflict. Whether you are looking for professional training, creating a custom program for your organization, or help addressing conflict in your community, our expert trainers are here to help.

Previous Training Partners

In our gold standard mediation training programs, 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?

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?

These hands-on certificate training programs feature 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. Programs are frequently offered in-person from coast to coast along with online only formats suitable for busy professionals and teams attending from overseas.

 

Professional Development with National Recognition

All of our 40-hour trainings are certificate programs and are eligible for CLE and MCLE certification in New York and California. Our participants are often sent from large corporations, such as Intel, SAP, and Roche to be certified for workplace mediation programs, as well as from law firms and mediation organizations.

 

Our Understanding-Based Model, established in 1983, has been recognized by the American Bar Association (who publishes our foundational text Understanding Conflict) and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard School of Law. Center trainers have also used the model in training at Harvard’s Program of Instruction for Lawyers, the Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. 

Our approach is that parties can work together to find the best solution by understanding their views, the other’s views, and their practical reality. Woven into our training is transforming our emotions and opinions into sources of empathy, connection, and understanding to bring together parties in conflict.

Stay Connected

Every month we share a newsletter that contains upcoming programs, articles, book reviews, podcast interviews and more about understanding-based conflict resolution and mediation.

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Learn More

Looking for a custom program? Our trainers can work with you to design an understanding-based conflict resolution training tailored to meet the unique needs of the community you serve. Contact us to learn how we can support your efforts to bring people together.

Our History
Our Model
Our Trainers
Traditional Mediation Training
Workplace Mediation
Professional Development

Traditional Mediation Training

Our flagship training for decades, Working Creatively with Conflict has been designed to help those working to mediate conflict between parties that helps avoid having the courts decide outcomes and seeks to honor people on both sides while working toward a mutually beneficial outcome for all involved.

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Upcoming Webinar and Training Programs

Workplace Mediation Training

Our conflict resolution training is broadly applicable, but large companies and nonprofit organizations encounter unique challenges not always found in traditional mediation settings. From resolving workplace disputes to settling issues before it becomes an HR problem, these training programs are designed increase understanding in the workplace.

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Upcoming Webinar and Training Programs

There are no upcoming events.

Ongoing Professional Development

For those operating outside of legal firms and corporate mediation programs, our Center has professional development workshops and webinars designed to help conflict resolution professionals establish a practice, find peer support, and develop a client base to start making an impact in the communities they serve.

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Upcoming Webinar and Training Programs