2025 Workshops will be posted in February 2025.
Our 2024 Conference featured the following workshops:
Managing High Conflict Situations – Advanced Skills for Teams
Annette Katchaluba
You know the law! In collaborative work it’s often emotions not the law that derail the process. Managing challenging emotions is not just for the family professional. Learn the brain science and play a critical role in moving through impasse. Gain advanced skills as a professional team, considering process design. Be equipped to unlock conflicts and refocus clients on achieving resolutions. Certified for 1.25 hours of Professionalism and .25 hours EDI by the Law Society of Ontario.
Introducing coaching concepts into the mediation process to achieve greater client positivity and alignment
Carrie Campbell
We know that fear of the unknown and resistance to change will impede the client’s ability to make confident choices during a negotiation. By incorporating coaching principals and space for vulnerability into the process, the client will have access to alternate perspectives to consider, allowing for a greater understanding of themselves and alignment with a negotiated settlement.
Future scripting: a powerful tool in mediation: empowering parties to envision and build their new life
Jacqueline Bailey and Suzanne Winlove-Smith
Are you seeking to elevate your practice, clarify goals, build resilience, and navigate challenges with ease? Future scripting offers a roadmap to shift focus from panic to post-divorce life and long-term goals, fostering commitment and moving beyond conflict. Learn this transformative technique and enhance your ability to guide clients through challenging transitions and towards a brighter tomorrow. Expand your toolkit and empower your clients to embrace their best future.
Navigating mortgages with wisdom in times of separation
John Panagakos
The common misconceptions of mortgages will now be understood. Often there is a gap that exists between lawyer/financial neutral and mortgage broker and how can they all work more efficiently together to help the client. In today’s financial world, bank policy, guidelines and legislation changes quickly and attendees will learn how to best prepare clients and where to refer them for best results.
breaking ground: innovative Mediation approaches for Family Estate Disputes
Julie Gill and Nick Esterbauer
Mediation is especially well-suited to estate disputes which are likely to have multiple parties, family dynamics, and a wide range of interests and emotions. Learn how family mediation can be used to address allegations of undue influence, the lack of a parent’s capacity to execute a testamentary document, or different expectations of inheritance within a blended family.
the Compassionate Integration Process – systemic approach to treat the whole family through a trauma-informed lens
Nicolle Kopping-Pavars and Natalie Derbyshire
The Compassionate Integration Process (CIP) is a dynamic new family process that harmonizes all dispute resolution strategies, emphasizing professionalism, trauma responsiveness, and transparency. The process fosters self-reflection, awareness, and holds space for all parties involved, striving for swifter resolution and efficiency. CIP's progressive approach enhances access to justice, promoting dignity and compassion in conflict resolution.
FRESHLY RELEASED ONLINE INTERACTIVE NEURO-LITERACY PROGRAM TO LEARN TO STAY IN CHARGE WHEN EMOTIONS RUN HIGH
Nathalie Boutet
What is it about YOU that you can sometimes feel calm and at peace despite chaos in the world and around us? What would your life be like if you could learn how YOUR brain works so you can replicate these performances more often? Augment your quality of life with this fun, online interactive neuro-literacy training for a modest $50 payment to use the software and bring your laptop! For those attending this Workshop click here to register and pay in advance. Certified for 1.5 hours of Professionalism credits by the Law Society of Ontario.
Cross-Cultural Competence in Family Dispute Resolution: Trends, Tips and Traits to Leverage Cultural Intelligence
Anu Osborne
Cultural differences among separating parties and professionals increases the complexity of interactions and resolution. Cultural differences also act as barriers to inclusive dispute-resolution practice. Increase your cultural knowledge by understanding the trends in the law and conflict resolution in multi-racial family disputes. Learn a methodology to increase cross-cultural competence. Cultivate perspectives that will enhance cultural sensitivity and facilitate cross-cultural practice.
In/Out of Control – Tool to help clients recognize and manage their emotions
Lorisa Stein
We cannot fully understand a client’s Control Expectations without their input distinguished from the legal, financial, and family advice. Using the In / Out of Control Assessment Tool’s facilitated exploration at key decision making points, clients will enhance their agency through Self Awareness, Management, and Mastery to make logical rather then emotional decisions supporting a more effective collaborative process.
Building Bridges: The Role of Self-Awareness in improving Communication
David Morneau and Jennifer Suzor
This workshop explores the concept that ineffective communication is at the centre of most disputes and sometimes people are the problem. Our CDR approaches can be as “small” or as “big” as we are willing to explore and create. A starting point to helping clients have better discussions in and after our processes is us. Learning more about how we approach communication and conflict is a keystone to helping others. In an interactive discussion we unpack the many tools that can help us reach excellence in our work. Certified for 1.5 hours of Professionalism by the Law Society of Ontario.
preparing clients for dialogue (not debate!)
Jacinta Gallant
Jacinta Gallant asked clients about their experience working with her (yikes!) and turned their generous, constructive feedback into engaging and empowering client preparation tools, grounded in the Insight Approach. Learn how the Our Family in Two Homes workbooks can help your clients engage more meaningfully and productively, to help you do your best work.
Creative ways to manage mortgages
Krista Lindstrom
Expand your toolkit with two essential resources. Discover the Spousal Buyout Mortgage, accessing 95%* of home equity for couples facing relationship breakdown. Gain insights into unique mortgage tools for grey divorces. Join this interactive session to learn expert tips, ensuring you can effectively leverage these tools to secure maximum equity for your divorcing clients and set them on the path to financial success.
Divorce Dialogues – Strategies for Successful Collaborative Conversations
Susan Guthrie and Liz Becker
Collaborative and Mediation communication is not one size fits all. Successful outcomes for all parties involved will be dependent on productive conversations. Whether you are speaking with one or many, in-person, virtually, or in print, the magic lies in proper preparation, perception, and delivery. Learn key factors in becoming more flexible and effective in your communication and have better conversations with your clients and your colleagues with better outcomes for all.
Empowering Inclusivity: Tips for Culturally Competent Client Care
Hilary Linton, Tami Moscoe, Cindy Chisvin, Nafisa Nazarali, Rhodes Thompson-Chase
How can collaborative professionals and mediators unearth the intertwined layers of diversity in their practices? How can we design relevant, respectful, trauma-informed practices? Follow along as our interviewer learns the unique needs of BIPOC, LGBTQ@+ and faith-community clients, children and families. This interactive workshop will enrich your practice in unexpected ways.
Getting Beyond Financial Impasse: Leveraging Valuators in Self-Employment Scenarios
Matthew Krofchick
Find out how to use valuators to resolve difficult financial situations that separating couples face where one/both spouses are self-employed. These include different opinions on scope of work, number of years to review, how the information is presented to the clients, information required, how to address work outside the initial scope of work, dealing with challenging clients and generally assisting your clients in a creative and practical manner.
before Family Reunification Therapy – Pre-Screening for parent/child contact problemS
Linda Perlis
Early identification and screening for warning signs of children who may resist or refuse parenting time is critical to timely intervention. Mediators and other alternative dispute resolution professionals are uniquely positioned to recognize and take steps to address these emerging situations.