HISTORY OF THE TERM EMPATHY German philosopher Theodor Lipps first introduced the term Einfuhlung (empathy) around 1903 to describe how we should fully appreciate a work of art. His idea was that we should project ourselves into the work and experience it from within, rather than imposing our own frame of reference to interpret the […]
If you read my previous newsletter about trauma informed practice in conflict resolution, you will recall that one of the core trauma-informed principles is client choice. Choice is important for clients who have experienced trauma, but providing choice is also good practice for all clients. Choice supports empowerment and self-determination, which is important for conflict management, resolution
How much choice do you give your clients? Read More »
This topic is a hot one for many people in the coaching field, but it’s also relevant for people who work in mediation and other conflict resolution processes. What do we mean by advice? Before we get into some possible answers to this question, it’s important to clarify exactly what we are talking about when
Can a coach give advice to their clients? Read More »
What is trauma informed practice? There is a lot of talk at the moment about trauma, and the need for a broad range of practitioners to ensure that their practice is “trauma-informed”. This includes anyone who works with people who may have experienced trauma, not just those who provide therapeutic services to survivors of trauma. Having a
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Along with the people involved in conflict, the practitioners supporting them also experience emotions before, during and after any interactions. The practitioners’ emotions may have an impact (positive or negative) on the clients, and the reverse is also true – the clients’ emotions may have an impact (positive or negative) on the practitioner. Why is it
The practitioner’s emotions in conflict Read More »
One of the core techniques we are taught as mediators and coaches is that when a person expresses their emotions (either directly or indirectly) we should “reflect them back”. Reflecting back a person’s emotions is supposedly helpful for showing that you understand how the person is feeling, validating the person’s emotional response, building rapport, demonstrating
Reflecting back emotions – questioning some assumptions Read More »
Many people think about hope as an emotion that is akin to faith or wishful thinking. However, hope theorists such as Snyder describe hope as a way of thinking. The best thing about approaching hope in this way, is that it becomes something that we can learn (and support others to develop). For our purposes,
Promoting hope in conflict Read More »
When we think about the kinds of emotions people experience in conflict, we usually think of negative ones like anger or frustration, and how to minimise the harm that these emotions can have on engagement and resolution. However, as conflict practitioners we can also promote emotions that have a positive impact on conflict engagement and
Positive and negative emotions in conflict Read More »
When we are working with people in conflict, we know that there are emotions involved. However, did you know that there are many different kinds of emotions that people bring to their conflict interactions, and that each of these can be managed differently to best support constructive conflict engagement? By different emotions, I don’t mean different
Emotions people bring to conflict Read More »
Emotions affect what we perceive, and they also help our brain determine what is most useful to pay attention to. Emotions draw our attention to certain things and away from others. Emotions can keep our attention focused or distract us from information that’s available to us. Emotions also affect how we interpret what we perceive
How emotions affect perception and attention in conflict Read More »
