I'm a cradle Catholic, so I do know the "rules" when it comes to getting a divorce in the eyes of the Catholic Church--basically, you must get the marriage "annulled" by a Priest, or you cannot remarry in the Catholic Church.

I had no idea, however, how other religions viewed religious divorce--until I came upon an article in Mediate.com which discussed a divorce in the Jewish religion. It's called a "get," and many Orthodox Jews are refusing to give them to their wives (in the…

Sure, it's Valentine's Day, but it's also V-Day, which since 2008 has been a day of action to end violence against women and girls.

Watch this video, and if you're a man, become part of the solution!

I have often heard this idiom – getting bent out of shape – when people talk about their reactions or the other person’s when in conflict. Several sources say this expression means to take offense, to become angry, agitated, or upset. For me though, the expression has more of a physical element. That is, it conjures up some interesting images – like an acrobat or pretzel.

In my work as a…

Quality patient care is critically important not only to the patient receiving services and the family navigating the health care system to support their loved one; but it is also very important to the physicians, nurses and myriad of health care providers who are dedicated to serving their patients. However, the complexity of managing and engaging in our health care system is all…

What Is Empathy?

Empathy is an important concept and practice for conflict resolution professionals.  Read more about it from DailyGood.org:

The term…

Fresh off the presses,it's a new blog post! How 10 years of Facebook changed how much we share with our friends …

Often ... a real life experience inspires me to write a specific post.

The idea for this blog was born when I was at a meeting with other mediators and I thought ... wow, we might need a mediator.

We had such differing opinions about a project we were working on. I observed my colleagues get pretty passionate about their perspectives and positions. I…

Happy February! Did you know that Table Topics Cafe has an online book club this year? Come join the fun! We're reading Switch: How to change things when change is hard by Chip & Dan Heath this month. For more info, follow the link: …

Transformative practitioners characterize the nature of conflict as a crisis in human interaction. One of the many features of this crisis is a breakdown in our capacity to recognize or respond to others. We call it 'self-absorption'. Another way of thinking about our capacity for openness to others, which is wounded in conflict, is empathy.…

I think we can all agree...asking for forgiveness is pretty hard. In fact, I've only recently learned how to do it (I'm pushing 40, but the way).The other day, my 4 year-old son had a particularly exhausting tantrum over (of all things) a football jersey. I should probably let you know that he will ONLY wear football jerseys, but it's always a struggle deciding which one to wear.

Well,…

When we are in conflict, some of us avoid coming to the point about something we think may upset the other person. The idiom beat around (or about) the bush describes the sort of prevarication when we delay or are evasive about raising difficult things. Or, it may be we act this way when we are having challenges answering a hard question.

The expression – beating around the bush - has an…

Mediation = Control Originally Posted on MediationWorks.

Often, especially in legal matters, parties in conflict see taking their case to mediation as signifying weakness or fear.  Since lawsuits are adversarial, this perception is understandable.  In contentious cases, with difficult adversaries, showing weakness can be problematic and disadvantageous.  There are other factors to consider when deciding to take a case to a…

There has been an increased emphasis on teamwork and collaboration in the delivery of health services over the past decade. Much of this has been due to research that indicates the need for good communication and coordination in order to provide safe and effective care to…

"What's Happening?" Blog is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more.  Check it out each week and view past news [HERE]…

Sometimes the future seems so far away ... especially when you have to make a decision today that will affect you for a long time to come.

Take, for example, coming up a parenting/custody plan with your 'soon to be ex-spouse' regarding your child who is only a toddler. It might seem overwhelming to put down on paper, a plan that's supposed to last 15 or 16 years!

But that's what parents can be faced with.

So here's a thought ... that could also apply to just about any…

Hi. I am writing ADR language into our coop rules. (Our co-op is a housing trust, and Illinois association laws don't apply.) I already got approval for mediation and arbitration clauses from FMCS, for no charge. But the Board still wants a lawyer to approve the language. I think a lawyer won't care about language that is not part of the third-party steps. Why spend shareholders' money for nothing? We promised shareholders that ADR would eliminate legal fees.  And if we have to find someone…