2 CPD Units in Professional Skills
Mediating Disputes Involving High Conflict Personalities
Presenter: Megan Hunter - High Conflict Institute
Date: Wednesday 25 November 2020
Time: 10:00am - 12pm
Location: Zoom Webinar
To view the programme click here
Mediating high conflict disputes is challenging at best. In this training, a thorough explanation is given of the thinking and behavior of parties with high conflict personalities, with an emphasis on what does not work and should be avoided. Next, a detailed explanation for the New Ways for Mediation method, including several paradigm shifts in each step of the process for greater success, including its similarities and differences with interest-based negotiations and transformative mediation. Mediating high conflict disputes requires some paradigm shifts from ordinary mediation and are not designed to replace what already works but rather to use when other methods like emotional exchanges and insight just don’t work.
This involves teaching the clients simple skills for asking more questions, setting agendas, agreeing jointly on each small step of the process, making proposals, asking questions about proposals and respectfully responding to proposals. In this approach, storytelling about past behavior is discouraged and the focus is kept on the future. However, throughout this process of focusing on the parties’ proposals, the mediator calmly demonstrates empathy, respect and neutrality for both parties, despite angry outbursts, surprise events, tears and rigid positions. The intended result is that the parties have less need to defend themselves, they work harder at finding solutions, and they are more committed to their own decisions.
Examples are described with special issues in several settings, including family, workplace, and disputes involving government agencies.
About Megan Hunter:
Megan Hunter, MBA, is an expert on high conflict disputes, complicated relationships. She is co-founder and CEO of the High Conflict Institute along with author and speaker, Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq. who developed the high-conflict personality theory. Megan developed the concept of the Institute after 13 years in family law as the Family Law Specialist with the Arizona Supreme Court, and Child Support Manager of the Dawes County Attorney’s Office in Nebraska. She is CEO of Unhooked Media, a U.S.-based media company focused on relationship and conflict revolution through print, digital and the spoken word.
Megan has trained legal, mental health, business, leadership groups, universities and other professionals across Australia, the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Israel, Italy, and South Africa. She also has strong policy and judicial training experience gained during her tenure at the Arizona Supreme Court as Child Support Specialist and Family Law Specialist.
Megan holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a Business and Economics degree from Chadron State College, Chadron, Nebraska. She has served as President of the Arizona Chapter of the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts, the Arizona Family Support Council and Nebraska Child Support Enforcement Association. More recently, she served 5 years on the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners.