Conflict is like a garden…

Though it needs tending, weeding, feeding and it sometimes feels uncomfortablea,

the end result can be quite beautiful.

What we do….

We help facilitate individual and group change for the purpose of personal growth and professional success. Our values include:

  1. Embracing diversity as an essential component in the way we conduct business.

  2. Contributing positively to the community by helping to facilitate change; resolve conflict; and bring people, groups, teams, or organizations together into understanding and harmony.

We specialize in the prevention and management of culture-based conflict in organizations, providing:

  • Education (workshops and trainings) on cultural competency and skill building

  • Education (workshops and trainings) on preventing culture-based conflict

  • Cross-cultural group facilitation

  • Programs and systems for addressing and managing culture-based conflict

We work with clients in the LGBTQIA and diverse communities on inter- and intra-personal issues and provide:

  • Mediation

  • Integrative coaching

What is Conflict?

Though some people have an aversion to the word “conflict,” it can be defined simply as “a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and interests.”  In other words, conflict is a normal and natural part of life and relationships.

A conflict can be internal (within an individual) or external (between two or more individuals). Conflict is also basic disagreement, whether it be social, ideological or political between individuals, among individuals in groups, or within organizations. Conflict, in its extreme, can lead to force, violence, and war.

We offer ways to address conflict situations using mediation, group facilitation, and focus groups.

What is Dispute/Conflict Resolution and Management?

Since conflict is a natural part of life, conflict or dispute resolution is the handling or management of conflict with the goal of resolving the conflict or dispute.

Successful resolution occurs when the needs of both (or all) parties have been met. Optimally, conflict resolution helps to prevent conflict from interfering with personal and professional relationships.

Mediation

Mediation is the intervention into a dispute or negotiation by an acceptable (professional/certified), impartial and neutral third party who has no decision-making authority.

The objective of the intervention is to assist the parties in voluntarily reaching an acceptable resolution of an issue or issues in dispute.   Mediation is useful in disputes where the parties have either been unable to initiate a productive dialogue, or where the parties have been talking and have reached a seemingly insurmountable impasse. 

What to Expect

Our approach to mediation is more facilitative than directive. In other words, we want the parties to arrive at their own solutions, which, in turn, promotes lasting resolution and ensures that both or all parties are satisfied with the outcomes, increasing the likelihood that the resolution is sustainable.

Testimonials

“Working with you helped us understand each other better, where the other person was coming from, and what they were feeling.”

K. C. - Decatur

“We appreciate your help tremendously and could not have figured this solution out with out the ability to talk with you.” 

E. K. - Decatur