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Samantha Hardy

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: What Happened To You? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

This book is a conversation between Bruce Perry (child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, child trauma specialist, and author of another excellent but emotionally difficult to read book The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog) and Oprah Winfrey, media leader and philanthropist, who has a special interest in child trauma. I wasn’t sure what to expect […]

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Neurodiversity, emotions and conflict

Many of the challenges that arise when neurodiverse and neurotypical people are involved in conflict are due to each person’s different way of experiencing, expressing and regulating emotions, and also the neurotypical assumptions on which many of our conflict resolution processes are based. With greater understanding and flexible approaches in the way we support diverse people

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WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman

This book was originally published in 1992, but was republished in 2022. It’s essential reading for anyone who works with people who have experienced trauma. The book is in two parts: the first part explores the experience of trauma, and the second the stages of recovery. The book provides an overview of the history of

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Challenges in our practice – hearing from the practitioners

In our Conflict Leadership Program last month, we discussed various challenges in our practice as mediators, conflict management coaches, and conflict management consultants. While there were a number of themes (including working with clients exhibiting challenging behaviours and managing strong emotions), surprisingly, the most commonly mentioned challenges were the limitations that are imposed by the systems

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WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: The Human Network by Matthew O. Jackson

This book is a fascinating account of how networks work. It explores how who we are connected to, directly and indirectly, can make a significant difference to things like power, opportunities, spread of infections, and dissemination of information. It also demonstrates how different kinds of connections (e.g. whether you are the hub of various connections,

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CRITICAL REFLECTION: Power balancing

The Australian National Mediation Accreditation System Practice Standards refer to power in a number of parts: “A mediator must have knowledge [about] the dynamics of power and violence.” (Clause 10.1(a)(i)) “A mediator must be alert to changing balances of power in mediation and manage the mediation accordingly”. (Clause 6.1) “A mediator must have the ability

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WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Thinking with Your Hands by Susan Goldin-Meadow

I found this book absolutely fascinating. While I’ve read a lot about body language, this book is about something distinct and different. It is about the hand signals that we use in conjunction with speech, and how they can communicate and sometimes change what a person is thinking (both the person gesturing and the person

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