Relationship Conflict Resolution

Relationship Conflict Resolution Relationship Conflict Resolution helps to create connections in mediations and groups. Hi, I'm Kathy Brown. Below are the links.

As a Florida Supreme Court Certified County, Family and Dependency Mediator, I'm responsible for mediating disputes between parties and their legal counsel as an alternative to litigation. I also facilitate Authentic Communication Groups where I help participants practice effective communication skills. As a mediator and facilitator, I rely on the skills I've honed as a 25-year practitioner of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). This communication model helps to resolve conflicts and deepen relationships by identifying the basic human needs underlying our negative thoughts and feelings. It does this by moving away from judgment, blame, and shame language and thinking, which we've all been well-schooled in for centuries, and encourages us to step into the heart-centered world of observations, feelings, needs and requests. I also employ the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, which offers a language and a framework for helping people speak for the intense emotions and thoughts that often drive conflict. IFS is a non-pathologizing and empowering perspective that views our internal conversations - our thoughts and emotions - as aspects or parts of ourselves. When we can speak for our parts, we are more likely to be heard and witnessed by the other more easily. When that can happen, the energy in the room often shifts and people are more open to discuss the issues from a calmer, more wise place. Both of these models work so well when we can slow things down to assess what's really going on for us in any given moment. My role as a mediator and facilitator is to support this process. If you resonate with these models, you may also enjoy my website, and my other page. Relationship Conflict Resolution
https://relationshipconflictresolution.com

For Crying Out Loud (FCOOL)
https://www.facebook.com/For-Crying-Out-Loud-92181584093/

08/02/2026

Hello!

This is Kathy Brown. I'm a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator and Approved Assistant Trainer. Attorney and Mediator Michelle Artman Smith, my co-presenter, and I are offering a trauma-informed virtual mediation training on September 16, 2026, from noon to 3 p.m. ET.

Please see below for more details about the training.

Also, you can visit my website for more information at: https://relationshipconflictresolution.com/mediation-groups/

If you're interested in this topic, we'd love to see you there!

TRAUMA-INFORMED MEDIATION TRAINING
Helping People Move from Protection Toward Connection
Practical communication tools for high-conflict conversations

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Mediators • Attorneys • Court Professionals • Mental Health Professionals • Conflict Resolution Practitioners • Anyone Navigating Difficult Conversations

Courts across the country are adopting trauma-informed practices that recognize dignity, safety, and communication as essential to justice. This interactive virtual workshop teaches practical tools to reduce escalation, build trust, and support more productive conversations during conflict.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Participants will learn practical trauma-informed language skills they can immediately use in mediations, court-connected conversations, and other high-conflict interactions.

Key Skills & Takeaways

* Recognize when anger, shutdown, defensiveness, confusion, or non-compliance may be trauma responses rather than simply “difficult behavior”

• Use empathy and validation to help people feel heard without requiring agreement

• Strengthen reflection and paraphrasing skills to lower defensiveness and improve understanding

• Learn affect labeling (“naming what’s here”) to reduce emotional escalation in the moment

• Explore “parts language” to help people express mixed feelings, reduce blame, and support curiosity and connection

• Practice offering difficult feedback in ways that are clear, respectful, and less likely to trigger shame or defensiveness

• Leave with practical phrases and techniques grounded in neuroscience and trauma-informed communication

WHY THIS TRAINING MATTERS

A trauma-informed approach helps professionals communicate more effectively during conflict while supporting accountability, trust, and honest dialogue.

Join us to practice language techniques that help difficult conversations become more humane, productive, and empowering.

TRAINING DETAILS

DATE: September 16, 2026
TIME: 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Zoom (Virtual Training)
COST: $65
General/IPV CME credits available. Possible CLEs pending.

REGISTER TODAY!

RSVP: Kathy Brown at [email protected] or (727) 608-3086 - Please provide your name and email. See website for more information: https://relationshipconflictresolution.com/mediation-groups/

PAYMENT: PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Debit and Credit Card accepted.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Kathy G. Brown

Florida Supreme Court Certified County, Family, and Dependency Mediator • Supreme Court Approved Assistant Mediation Trainer

Kathy has conducted hundreds of mediations across Florida and brings more than 25 years of experience in conflict resolution, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and trauma-informed practices, including the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, as it relates to a legal setting.

Michelle Artman Smith, Esq.

ADR Director, 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida • Florida Supreme Court Certified County, Family, and Dependency Mediator • Supreme Court Approved Assistant Mediation Trainer

Michelle oversees court mediation services for Florida’s 12th Judicial Circuit and serves as a mediator, trainer, and presenter supporting Florida’s Trauma-Informed Court Initiative.

A little late posting these pictures from the Trauma Con 2026: Nurturing Courageous Healing event in Bradenton, Florida,...
06/14/2026

A little late posting these pictures from the Trauma Con 2026: Nurturing Courageous Healing event in Bradenton, Florida, May 20-21, 2026. Grateful to have co-presented at the conference with my colleague and dear friend, Michelle Smith. In addition to presenting, we attended other trauma-themed workshops, too. It was a wonderful experience, capped off with time spent with good friends and a nostalgic romp through downtown St. Petersburg.

Hi Everyone! I'll be co-presenting with Michelle Smith at the "Trauma Con 2026: Nurturing Courageous Healing," event in ...
04/21/2026

Hi Everyone! I'll be co-presenting with Michelle Smith at the "Trauma Con 2026: Nurturing Courageous Healing," event in Bradenton, Florida, on May 20, 2026.

Our workshop is titled: Beyond Difficult Behavior: Using Trauma-Informed Language Tools to Create Safe and Supportive Environments."

Below is the information on the interactive workshop, the 2-day conference sponsored by Centerstone Trauma & Grief Treatment, and how to register. This is a free event but space is limited. I've also attached the flyer for more information. If this topic interests you, we'd love to see you there!

Abstract:
Behavioral health challenges strain our communities, courts, and court-adjacent mental health partners. Underlying this crisis is often trauma and toxic stress, which can hijack communication and behavior. Neuroscience research supports the use of trauma-informed language tools - empathy, validation, reflection, and paraphrasing - to help nervous systems settle and safety grow.

Presentation Description:
In child welfare court, mediations, and allied professional settings, trauma often arrives as "difficult behavior" - anger, shutdown, confusion, or what gets labeled as non-compliance. Under the pressure of tight timelines, high stakes, and repeated crises, even well-intended responses can escalate conflict or unintentionally retraumatize the very people the systems are trying to serve.

This interactive workshop translates trauma-informed principles into practical, in-the-moment communication tools that help professionals de-escalate, preserve dignity, and still hold clear boundaries.

Participants will learn micro-skills that can be used immediately in mediations, in interviews, in hallways, in offices, in the courtroom - anywhere challenging behavior arises. These skills, such as trauma-sensitive language, affect labeling ("naming what's here"), and validation without agreement, are supported by the latest neuroscience research.

We will connect these tools to what the brain and body do under stress, and to how these skills help reduce escalation in settings where power differences, fear of consequences, and the tension between compliance and safety can be present. Participants will also practice these skills through role play.

Finally, participants will learn self-care strategies that reduce compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout, so trauma-responsive work is sustainable over time.

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Saint Petersburg, FL
33712

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