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Thoughts on School Shootings

04/15/2023
Thoughts on School Shootings

I went to Covenant Christian School today and stood at the memorial and wept.  All of those beautiful faces, gone in an instant.  I felt the terror of the children fleeing and the fear of their families, daring to hope that their loved ones were safe.  It hangs in the air.   Evelyn Dieckhaus, Mike Hill, Katherine Koonce, whom I knew, Cynthia Peak, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney.  I say their names because I’m afraid we’ll forget. We should never forget.  I wrote on every memorial cross, “choose love” – because that’s what came to me.  That’s what those faces in the picture did; how they lived. I think if everyone could stand in that space ...

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Back to Basics: Why Mediate?

11/12/2022
Back to Basics: Why Mediate?

Phyllis Pollack October 26, 2022 As part of my preparation to teach a class on mediation confidentiality, I reviewed the Uniform Mediation Act with all of its comments (UMA). In doing so, it struck me that although mediation is extremely popular and common place, it would be good to remind ourselves why we should mediate rather than litigate! First and foremost, mediation helps to settle a dispute or litigation early on in the process before parties become entrenched in their positions. Not only does it give the parties control over both the process and the substantive outcome (unlike a trial or arbitration in which a third party (i.e., stran ...

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Conflict Resolution in Dementia Care with "Rodger That" Podcast

09/28/2022
Conflict Resolution in Dementia Care with "Rodger That" Podcast

Conflict Resolution in Dementia Care :: Kimberly BestRodger ThatWhat do you do when you are concerned about your parents whose health is deteriorating but your siblings are not? This is just one of the many issues that can create conflict among family members dealing with eldercare. In some cases, a professional mediator can be extremely helpful. Kimberly Best, RN, MA, is a professional civil and family mediator and author. She helps reduce the emotion and conflict between family members so that decisions can be made in the best interest of the older adults involved. Because we all know that sibling relationships can be complicated – to say t ...

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Mediation: Strengthening Troubled Sibling Bonds to Deal With an Aging Parent

04/03/2022
Mediation: Strengthening Troubled Sibling Bonds to Deal With an Aging Parent

Strengthening Troubled Sibling Bonds to Deal With an Aging Parent May 29, 2015   After their father died unexpectedly, the McMahan sisters — from left, Therese, Rosie and Linda — found that they needed help making decisions in caring for their mother and their brother, who has cognitive disabilities.Matthew Cavanaugh for The New York Times ROSIE, Therese and Linda McMahan were always close, but after their father died unexpectedly in 2011, they found their relationship strained. They did not know what to do for their 84-year-old mother, Rose, and their brother, Paul, 53, who has cognitive disabilities and is in a wheelchair. The sisters ...

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When No One Wants to Talk...

06/14/2021
When No One Wants to Talk...

"What do you do when you are concerned about your parents whose health is deteriorating? How do you handle talking with other family members about serious issues when they don't think anything is wrong? What happens when you are the one who is spending time with your older adults, and you see the degeneration happening but those who live far away don't get a full picture of how your loved ones' life is changing?" To continue reading, please click the link! https://www.mediate.com/articles/kauth-no-one-wants.cfm #conflictresolution #mediation #communication

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5 biggest benefits of divorce mediation

06/14/2021
5 biggest benefits of divorce mediation

5 biggest benefits of divorce mediation "Going through a divorce and appearing before a judge can be overwhelming. Fortunately, a trial is not the only way to reach an agreement. Rather, using a mediator will allow for more flexibility as you work toward a compromise in your divorce decree." To keep reading, follow the link below. https://www.abc15.com/.../5-biggest-benefits-of-divorce... #divorce #mediation #adr

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Featured in Pure Living Nashville - "Moving Forward With Conflict Resolution"

07/28/2020
Featured in  Pure Living Nashville - "Moving Forward With Conflict Resolution"

https://purelivingnashville.com/moving-forward-with-conflict-resolution/

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Alleviating Anxiety Through Conflict Management

07/07/2020
Alleviating Anxiety Through Conflict Management

It's the perfect storm for anxiety.  Join Dr. Steven Bonner as we discuss how conflict management tools can help us recognize and deal with anxiety. Click here to learn more.

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Tme to Talk, Not to Fear

03/16/2020
Tme to Talk, Not to Fear

PLEASE READ- TIME TO TALK, NOT TO FEAR Dear Friends and Family, This was not easy to write and may be harder to read, but I hope that you do. As we all know, we are in the beginning of a pandemic.The worst case scenario of the coronavirus is a 3.5% fatality rate. We know that it is most likely to effect the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions, and we we know that we need to be careful to decrease transmission.  While this situation is frightening and unprecedented, it is also an opportunity for us to think rather than react. It is also an opportunity to have necessary conversations around how we want to live and, ultimately, ...

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Interview with Channel 4 Nashville on the Importance of Relationships and Mediation

03/10/2020
Interview with Channel 4 Nashville on the Importance of Relationships and Mediation

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/whom-do-you-have-unresolved-issues-with-author-says-fix-your-relationships-before-you-die

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The American Bar Association Reviews "How to Live Forever: A Guide to Writing the Final Chapter of

03/10/2020
The American Bar Association Reviews "How to Live Forever:   A Guide to Writing the Final Chapter of

So Grateful for this review in the ABA journal Bifocal.   https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_aging/publications/bifocal/vol-41/bifocal-vol-41--issue-3/how-to-live-forever--a-guide-to-writing-the-final-chapter-of-you/

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Solo Parent Society Podcast on Conflict

03/04/2019
Solo Parent Society Podcast on Conflict

               MANAGING CONFLICT ==> iTUNES https://apple.co/2Nrf6gi OR  http://bit.ly/2E9psNGThe person who once was your closest friend may now be a familial foe with whom you must learn to co-parent. For the sake of our kids, we want to co-parent well. Kimberly Best, a professional conflict mediator, shows us ways to find solutions no matter the source of conflict.https://www.bestconflictsolutions.com/                        

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Tips For Holiday Conflict

12/11/2018
Tips For Holiday Conflict

  The holidays are coming, and with the joy and cheer comes some stress. Families get together and there are those inevitable unresolved grudges, lingering hurt feelings, those testy relationships, the little dread around the recurring themes, and the “difficult” people. How to cope? Here are some tips to help you thrive and maintain healthy relationships during the holidays. 1. Remember, no one has changed anyone’s mind on politics, religion or anything else during these family conversations. It is possible to listen without countering. Maybe you could listen for what is right. It is possible to listen with curiosity; to ask more questions a ...

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Forgiveness and Reconciliation - The Peace of Working Through Conflict

02/23/2018
Forgiveness and Reconciliation - The Peace of Working Through Conflict

Forgiveness and Reconciliation- The peace of Working Through Conflict. The final step in the conflict process is exploring forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a discussion on how to apologize and how to accept apology. To ask for forgiveness and to forgive. Then we move on to reconciliation. What will our relationship look like moving forward. How do we right the wrongs.  Mike Martin writes: Many of us struggle to forgive those who have wronged or angered us, especially when we cannot avoid future encounters with them because they are a family member, close friend, or co-worker. There are two approaches that have helped me whenever I strug ...

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Relationships Can Be So Hard

12/05/2017
Relationships Can Be So Hard

There is nothing so complicated as relationships.  And how could they not be?  We are all so different, with varying degrees of likes and dislikes, passions, skills, abilities, needs, and opinions.  We have different chemistries, biologies, experiences.  Even words mean something different to each person.  Interactions are complicated.   How could there not be conflict?   Because we are biological beings, the first things that happen in conflict are physical changes.  Fight or flight.   Thinking stops.  Walls go up around our hearts.   We are unable to see past our own pain (and needs and wants).  The irony of this is, the person we are in co ...

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Learning Conflict

03/07/2017
Learning Conflict

“Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means” - Ronald Reagan The more I learn about conflict management and good communication, the more I am amazed by how simple and possible and life changing having good skills in these areas can be….and the more I realize how little most of us have learned.    Think about how conflict was handled in your childhood.   For me, there were two dominant, nuclear powers.   Their names were Mom and Dad.  I can’t remember ever being able to say “no”. (Just think of the fallout for that alone;  a young lady who grows up never learning to have a voice, choice, or abi ...

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Why Conflict Coaching?

11/02/2016
Why Conflict Coaching?

I heard a story recently about a friend of a friend who is taking steps to end his decade-plus marriage.  Like many such stories, years of problems and blame have led to unresolved anger, bitterness, and withdrawal. All of the joy and affection are gone and the marriage has been sexless for years. The couple feels that they have tried everything that they know how to do, or are willing to do, to save their relationship.  Their problems have grown and escalated so they no longer have hope of bridging the distance between them.   Now begins the painful, agonizing process of tearing apart two lives that have been joined together.   When I hear t ...

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