In this talk, I will share insights from my work in high-stakes international disputes, where I have navigated complex interactions with people ranging from former paramilitaries, combatants, and guerrilla fighters to policymakers and business leaders. These challenging environments taught me that universal principles for addressing complexity are applicable across sectors, communities, and disciplines.
One powerful analogy is fractality—the idea that patterns repeat at different scales, each pattern containing smaller copies of itself, extending indefinitely.
These experiences highlight universal truths that resonate in diverse contexts—from war zones to boardrooms, therapy rooms, and relationships with ourselves and others—emphasising our shared humanity.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- Explore how power dynamics, systemic inequalities, and historical trauma shape both large-scale conflicts and interpersonal struggles.
- Learn how conflict resolution strategies from high-stakes environments—such as war zones and political negotiations—can be adapted to foster emotional resilience, healing, and meaningful dialogue.
- Reflect on the intersection of personal experience, identity, and bias in developing strategies to sustain wellbeing while engaging in emotionally demanding and transformative social change efforts.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- Therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals.
- Social justice activists and community organizers.
- Researchers and educators.
- Individuals who want to understand and apply conflict transformation principles in their personal and collective struggles.
- Leaders and facilitators working in social change, advocacy, or therapeutic spaces who wish to enhance their approach to collaboration and consensus-building.
- Anyone committed to personal and collective healing and interested in applying lessons from extreme conflict environments to everyday challenges.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- Develop practical conflict resolution skills for de-escalation and meaningful dialogue.
- Strengthen emotional resilience in therapeutic and social justice work.
- Enhance self-awareness by reflecting on personal biases and experiences.