How to Get Along: A Seven-Week Conflict Resolution Workshop for Couples

Brook Thorndycraft (intern with Riverdale Mediation Ltd.)

A few months ago, I took a break from work to chat over coffee with my friend Ali, a psychotherapist and couples counselor.   As we talked about a conflict resolution workshop I was designing, Ali mentioned how great it would be if some of her couples could do an intensive conflict resolution workshop to help them develop the skills to get past some of the ways they get stuck.

Now, several months later, we are excited to be developing a seven-week conflict resolution workshop for couples!  We are offering it for the first time on Wednesday evenings starting January 20^th, 2016, in downtown Toronto.

We have designed the workshop to teach skills that are useful for minor disagreements as well as for more serious conflict.  Our philosophy is that all relationships have conflict or misunderstanding at some point, and the more we develop conflict resolution and communication skills when things are feeling good, the easier it is to use them when there are bumps in the road.  In fact, in an intimate relationship, small conflicts are almost always about more than what they seem to be about on the surface.  This means that the best time to take a course like this is when the conflict level is still low, but high enough that it feels uncomfortable.

That being said, we also welcome couples who are currently experiencing a high degree of conflict, including those who are currently in couples counselling.  We see this as a great supplement to therapy.  The workshop is an opportunity for people to develop an understanding of what drives relationship conflict, and to develop the skills to resolve it.  We will provide a supportive environment that encourages them to step out of the details (e.g. “Why don’t you ever do the laundry??”), and see the bigger picture.  A supportive space that focuses on group learning and skills building can offer new ways of looking at a situation.  The group setting of the workshop will encourage people to focus on the skills to resolve conflict, rather than the details of who did what to whom.

For more information, please contact us at getalongworkshop@gmail.com

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Brook Thorndycraft, M.A. B.Ed., is a current intern with Riverdale Mediation Ltd., and has been working in community work and education for the last 12 years. She currently works as a Professor in the Community Worker Program at George Brown College, and as a Counselor with Toronto Public Health. She also works in private practice as a Conflict Resolution Consultant with individuals, families, and non-profit organizations. She encourages people to understand conflict as an opportunity for change and growth, and supports them to develop their emotional capacity and practical skills in order to deal with conflict more successfully. She provides skills building workshops, organizational development and conflict resolution, and one-on-one coaching. Brook has training and experience in popular education methods, restorative justice, and mediation, and brings her community-based experience into her conflict resolution work.

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