KCDRC Training, Community Training

The Dispute Resolution Center offers several workshops that are open to the public:

Communication & Negotiation for Collaborative Practitioners

Dealing with Difficult Situations with Tenants

Dealing with Mental Health Issues in Housing

Got Workplace Conflict?

Discovering Your Work Style Profile

Mediation Training

Family Mediation Training

Learn how to identify your clients' underlying interests: practice active listening in the context of collaborative law; identify conflict styles and their impact; discover strategies for breaking deadlocks, and work effectively with the interdisciplinary team. Designed specifically for collaborative practitioners.

Approved by the Washington State Bar Association for 30 CLE credits (1 in Ethics)

Eviction is costly and time consuming and not always the best solution. Learn skills for communicating with demanding or challenging tenants. This 7-hour training will help you become more effective in handling conflicts with tenants.

Participant Comments
"I learned skills useful to my job."
"I got more than I expected – very helpful and well worth the time!"
"I learned that collaborating is more effective than being competitive."
"The materials were clear and the training was great!"
"I really enjoyed the scenarios and the group participation."
"Hands-on activities and role playing were helpful."
"This was great for me to help clarify what type of attitude I bring to a conflict."

When residents of rental housing have mental health issues, the methods used to resolve conflicts with and between them need to be tailored to meet their special needs. Learn how to increase your effectiveness in dealing with this population of tenants using a model that respectfully addresses the constraints of this situation.

A 3-day series to help you address conflict with your co-workers, employees and supervisors. This training will help you prepare for difficult conversations, manage highly charged situations, negotiate successfully and generate solutions that meet everyone's needs.

In this 3-hour course, you will will learn which communication styles dominate your work style in both calm and "storm" situations. You will explore ways to maximize the strengths of your styles and avoid going into excessive reliance on aspects that can backfire. You will also gain insight on how to work with those who have different styles than your own. Excellent team-building course for work groups.

A 40-hour intensive training designed to teach the skills needed to become a facilitative mediator. This training model uses the interest-based approach common in community dispute resolution. You will learn to be a neutral third party, manage highly charged negotiations, and empower clients to find solutions that meet everyone’s needs. The facilitative mediation model will give you the foundation needed to handle family issues, interpersonal dynamics, conflicts with neighbors, employers, merchants, landlords, care facilities, and schools. This training meets the classroom requiement for certification throught Washington Mediation Association. Additional specialized training may be required for some types of conflicts. The Dispute Resolution Center also offers a mentored practicum available to mediation students completing the classroom training. Ask about an application.

Learn the 5 styles of approaching conflict
Explore intercultural factors that affect conflict
Examine mediator ethics and bias

February 11, 13, 15, 21 & 22
April 17, 18, 21, 23 & 25 - This session is full!
June 20, 23, 25, 27 & 30
November 5, 6, 10, 12 & 14

Participant Comments:
"Great program! I'm so glad my professor recommended the DRC course to me."
"Trainers were all great and coaches really added to the experience."
"Role play practice sessions provided great opportunities for learning."
"I got a great deal out of this class and was very impressed with the way it was facilitated and taught!"
"Very engaging and informative."

This 24-hour course will build on your mediation skills to enable you to add family mediation to your skill set. You will learn to mediate divorce and separation of unmarried couples, including developing parenting plans and resolving property and financial issues. This course is open to those who have completed a mediation practicum, and with some mediation experience. Practicum students will be considered on a space-available basis.

Offered to any organization interested in improving the skills of staff or members. Training is custom-designed to address the needs of the contracting organization, and can cover conflict among staff members, between staff and clients/customers, and for personal use with family and friends. Staff development training may include communication skills, collaborative problem solving, conflict management, and supervisory skills. Workshops vary in length, from half-day introductory sessions to three-day trainings. We work with private firms, public agencies, non-profits, churches, and community organizations to provide training that will further peaceful conflict resolution.

Participant Comments:
"Wonderfully tailored to our group needs."
"These tools will be very useful in our work place."
"The training reflected the specific situations we deal with every day."

Contact Sue Ann Allen, the Dispute Resolution Center's Training Director, to discuss your custom training - call (206) 443-9603 ext. 106 or email her.

Full refund or credit voucher will be made for withdrawals up to one week prior to the beginning of the training. Credit vouchers of 50% will be issued for withdrawals less than one week prior to the training. No refund or credit voucher will be issued for cancellations made the day of the training or for anyone who, without notification, does not come to the training.