I ‘discovered’ Collaborative Practice in 1999.  Of course it was only ‘new’ to me.  Stu Webb had started the ball rolling in the late 1980s. Most of what appealed to me about it was that it offered a way to work with people that did NOT involve the courts.  Instead it focused solely on helping them to reach decisions they could both live with.  Whether or not one of them was ‘right’ was irrelevant.  What some third party – a judge or a legislature – thought did not have to determine the outcome for them. To me this was huge.  It was a large part of what Stu and others were calling the Paradigm...

Archetypes at the Negotiating Table By Theresa Beran Kulat First articulated by the great philosopher, Plato, then more fully revealed by modern psychoanalyst Carl Jung, archetypes hold keys to unlocking the mysteries of a person’s life and can provide insights that assist negotiations at the collaborative table. After a very brief introduction to the world of archetypes, this article describes a methodology for using the language of archetypes to increase one’s self-awareness which can improve satisfaction with one’s personal and professional life. Then it offers a context, using awareness of archetypes, to improve effectiveness during the...

In my jurisdiction of Florida, in order to become certified as a Family Law Mediator, you must observe a certain amount of mediations. This structure helps newly trained mediators become more comfortable in their role and also helps with quality control. We can learn from the successes of mediation, but one of the largest challenges that my collaborative community has faced is the unwillingness of clients and many professionals to permit “observers” or “shadows” on their cases. As a relatively young yet rapidly growing collaborative community, offering newly-trained practitioners the opportunity to see a collaborative case has become...

Productive dialogue is essential in the Collaborative Practice approach to Divorce.  That requires both self awareness AND genuine empathy for the other person… whether colleague, client or soon-to-be-ex.  I spent some time with Cat Zavis talking about how we can each make that possible during Divorce. Cat Zavis has upcoming trainings for collaborative professionals, mediators, and parents (among others) to help them navigate conflict (both inner and outer) with greater skill and success: Cat is offering a FREE teleclass for divorced or divorcing Co-Parents  on Monday, February 10th, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Pacific Time.  This FREE...