Conflict Resolution (Personal Mental/Emotional Health, Decision Making, Violence Prevention, problem solving) Mr. Corabi WHY?: Conflict Resolution is a foundation unit that should be part of any Health and/or wellness program. If a person is able to understand and apply Conflict Resolution techniques, they will be better able to problem solve, make healthier decisions, deal with feelings and stress in their life, and stay more emotionally healthier overall.

Vocabulary: Conflict: A problem to be solved or Decision that needs to be made Resolution: A Solution or answer Conflict Resolution: A peaceful solution to a problem

Common Causes of Conflict Disagreements, Rumors, Poor decision making skills, different perceptions of a situation, being left out are all common causes of conflicts between 2 people. Although the reason for conflict may be unimportant, small quarrels can turn into serious—even deadly—fights.

TYPES OF CONFLICT Me vs myself a personal “problem”. This could be as simple as a decision that needs to be made or as difficult as poor self esteem, stress management or anger control techniques

TYPES OF CONFLICT Me vs “you” A “problem” with another person or between 2 groups. Usually, peaceful disagreements or decision making but more commonly used to discuss real problems between 2 people

TYPES OF CONFLICT Me vs myself conflicts are responsible for many Conflicts with others due to personality issues and because we tend to take out frustrations on other people

TYPES OF CONFLICT Me vs Nature/Environment Dealing with the environment (like weather) environment dealing with life (such as global warming) “issues” within an environment such as a neighborhood, school or other social gathering

Conflicts can be healthy? Conflicts with others stemming from Disagreements are a part of life. We can use them to help us learn to do things differently in the future. However, they can intensify into arguments. When arguments get out of hand, fights may result. Common reasons teens argue: Property Hurt feelings Values Different wants/needs Territory

Revenge and getting other peers involved If someone insults you or your family, your first instinct may be to get even. If you give in to this instinct, the other person may decide to retaliate, setting off a chain of events. Peers may urge others to “fight it out.” Once a group gathers to cheer or tease the fighters, it becomes much harder to solve the problem peacefully.

How Conflicts Build If conflicts are allowed to escalate, or grow, they can result in violence. You may be able to stop a conflict from getting worse if you notice the warning signs.

Resolving Conflicts Peacefully Nonviolent confrontation is resolving a conflict by peaceful methods. It allows you to settle matters without angry words or looks, threats, punches, or weapons.

RESOLUTIONS: There are 3 main types of solutions to conflicts with others: ============================================ WIN/WIN LOSE/LOSE AVOID??? When can avoiding a problem instead of solving it be helpful? WIN/LOSE

RESOLUTIONS: WIN/WIN = BEST Solution type. Literally, everybody wins…simply, both people get what they want LOSE/LOSE Most common type of solution. It’s a middle ground that is “fair” to all parties but nobody really gets what they want completely AVOID??? Not a solution but sometimes, it’s better to not get involved or to stay away from potential conflicts WIN/LOSE= Sometimes peaceful (such as flipping a coin) but usually not. This is when one party gets what they want and the other does not. Often, one person is forceful but also, someone could just always easily give in

Preventing Conflict It is not always easy to avoid conflicts, but it is possible. Some suggestions for preventing serious conflicts are as follows: Practice good communication. Ignore some conflicts. Don’t take sides. Show disapproval of fighting.

Resolving Conflicts Through Negotiation A key factor in conflict resolution is negotiation which is the process of discussing problems fact-to-face in order to reach a solution. Effective negotiation includes these elements: Talking Listening Considering other points of view Compromising

Peer Mediation In peer mediation, a student or a pair of students mediates a discussion between the teens in conflict by being a neutral person to facilitate discussion and come to a peaceful solution. Some schools use peer mediation to resolve conflicts caused by behavior such as name- calling, bullying, or gossiping.

Achieving Win/Win or Lose/Lose agreements Some people approach conflict resolution with the belief that someone must win and someone else must lose. This view can make the disagreement worse. It’s healthier to think of conflict resolution as a problem where both people want something and try to reach a fair agreement where both people can be happy

Resolution techniques In order to practice good Conflict Resolution skills with others, we need to recognize: What our anger triggers are Positive expressions of feelings Good solid communication Ways to positively deal with stress in our life Decision making skills Problem solving skills And make an effort to limit or eliminate participation in violence in our life