So, many of you know that I just started a new job as a Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice, and I could name off a million reasons why I chose to accept the position.

But, one reason was this: The company offers pre- and post-baby counseling for couples, something I always thought is sorely needed.

In fact, after I visited my Sister, her husband, and my newborn…

I have the utmost respect for those in the customer service industry. Seriously. They have to deal with cranky callers all the time, and I include myself among them.The other day, I was especially geared up for a fight when I called the customer service number for the I-Pass (the toll agency here in Illinois). I had received a letter in the mail stating that I had not paid two tolls, which I KNOW I did because I had the bank statement to prove it. And, boy, was I gonna let that customer…

I'm not one to follow the lives of movie stars and famous people ... but when I saw a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow with an online article entitled "Is 'Conscious Uncoupling' a Better Way to Divorce?", the mediator in my just had to click and read.…

As I was reading my AAMFT magazine the other day (it's one of my favorite magazines), I read an article on Faith-Based Therapy, something that's really started to catch-on in the therapy world.In essence, Faith-Based therapy is when a therapist and client use spirituality as the underlying premise for therapy. For example, a Christian therapist and client may look at healing through spiritual means or call upon the principles held by Jesus as a way to navigate the therapy process.…

Dear Farmer Brown:

The barn is very cold at night. We'd like electric blankets.

Sincerely.

The Cows.

This is what happens when a bunch of cows find an old typewriter in their barn - they write a grievance letter to direct Farmer Brown's attention to their living conditions.

"No way" says Farmer…

I, along with most of the world, am fascinated with the missing jet, MH 370. With all the technology, GPS capabilities, and radar, it still took weeks for authorities to find debris from the jet--another reminder that the world is much, much bigger than we think.

In the midst of the search, hundreds of families seem to be getting angrier by the day, wondering if the airlines are being forthright and honest with them regarding their missing loved ones.…

Join Founding Host Pattie Porter and Hosts Zena Zumeta and Stephen Kotev as we celebrate and honor the many guests during our 200th Episode. This is our 5 year anniversary of…

It's so interesting. When I start a mediation, I often ask parties to visualize the future - asking them to think beyond their conflict and imagine what things could be like.

They tell me wonderful things like how it would feel to get beyond where they are, what they want for their children, how they want to save money by avoiding long, drawn out legal battles and much more.

Then, we start the mediation and I am sometimes amazed at how quickly they forget what they have said.…

I just read a really interesting article about mediation "styles." You know the ones: facilitative, evaluative, and transformative.

Me? I was trained in facilitative mediation, but have always wondered about the others because, frankly, I've never been one to stick to one "theory" or "style." I prefer to mix-and-match theories, in mediation and in therapy--but, I always worry doing so will make me appear sloppy and incompetent.…

Having elementary-school-aged children is a very precarious time for a marriage--or so I learned during graduate school. I remember having an infant at the time and wondering--will my husband and I break-up when they hit school-age?

Not sure if the book I read gave an in-depth reason for this trend, but it may have something to do with the rigors of child-rearing...or maybe the Seven-Year-Itch that many couples encounter, which happens to coincide with this time in many couples'…

The Texas Conflict Coach radio program's mission is to raise awareness and educate the general public and our communities about conflict resolution and peace building. In doing so, we are collaborating with Mediation Station in Toronto, Canada to encourage deeper understanding through meaningful talk and deeper…

Have you ever felt like you have been dragged into a dispute??

I don't know about you, but I have.

Before you can blink, your muscles are starting to tense and your heart beats faster. Your lizard brain is starting to engage and the little hairs on the back of your neck are starting to bristle. You're in ... and ready to 'get it on.'

Did you ever think that you…

It's been a pretty stressful week in our home. My husband, who started a new job about a year ago, is under a tremendous amount of pressure at work--trying to please his boss. Now, my husband would be classified as a people-pleaser and very, very easy to please. I'm being serious when I tell you that all he asked for when he turned 48 this past January was a bag of pretzels and some Cokes (and that's what he got).…

Most of us understand when there is a conflict, but we have not looked at what keeps us locked into the conflict. Those three components are powerful magnets for us. The program today will examine how identity, emotion and power work in conflict, and how understanding each of them…

Last week, after listening to a shaman client tell me about the deep pain of her life, she said, “Your friends must be so lucky to have someone like you to listen to them.” Actually, I wish it worked out that way. Having a friend that listens for a living doesn’t always equate to having a lot of left over energy for listening to friends. My poor friends, I love you! When…

I don't know about you ... when I hear the word DEFENSE, I think of a football fan holding up a big letter "D" and a fence and shouting the word so loudly that it resonates above everyone else doing the same thing.

Little did I realize that I could also be thinking about that word in the context of every day conflict.

I had my observer hat on this past week during a…

After reading Jeanette's blog Monday about more mediators in public office, it got me thinking about where else mediators may be helpful--and schools came to mind.

Of course, school psychologists can be extremely helpful in resolving conflict between students, between students and teachers, and between faculty. But, they're often busy helping students with emotional struggles and family dynamics. If mediators or conflict resolution specialists were placed in schools, I can only…

I just read an interesting article in Mediate.com that spoke the issue of blame--and who's fault it is when a marriage or relationship fails.

Although "blame" is not hardly new territory to tackle, the article made me realize that it's human nature to want to assign blame to a conflict. So, as mediators, we're in the business of going AGAINST human nature to some degree--and asking the parties to do that, as well.…

The definition of a "dance" in Websters dictionary is "a series of movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music." Now, why on earth would I write out that in a conflict resolution blog?

The reason is that in mediation, I often see conflicting parties "dance" with one another. What do I mean by that?

They have their own music that defines their…

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…