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Thank you for visiting this pages.  If you like training where you’re just ticking a box and not being invited to reflect, then you’re in the wrong place. 

If you like training where you leave lit up, passionate about your next steps and with a renewed sense of who you are as a professional then welcome my friend. I think we’re on the same page.

Photo 134486434 © Sarayut Thaneerat - Dreamstime.com

At the moment I am running short webinars online (1-2 hours max) but please do watch this space for in person training events.  I haven’t forgotten that I had talked about a retreat pandemic and I am still working on this behind the scenes.

If you click on the links at the bottom of the page then you can sign up to our free mailing list.  This means you will get details of new training courses when they are announced and benefit from additional discounts.

These are the training events running in 2024(do check back regularly as we may add to this).

How to do no harm when working with separating couples and individuals with Lesley Edelstein and Louisa Whitney

This is a two part online webinar with two 2 hour webinars covering different aspects. They will take place on:

Week one  Thursday 18th April 2024 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Week Two Thursday 25th April 2024 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

This webinar is a must for family practitioners from all professional backgrounds.  In it Lesley Edelstein and Louisa Whitney share their professional as well as some personal experiences to look at the many aspects of our work that may cause harm to clients, ourselves and our colleagues.  We will be flagging potential hot spots for harm and helping you to see them coming, in addition to providing various practical strategies for managing potentially harmful situations in the best way possible.

Lesley Edelstein

Lesley Edelstein is passionate about Occupational supervision providing a valuable resource for all professionals to grow both personally and professionally. Seen as an oasis, space to consider everything from relationships with colleagues to through to existential experiences. having transformative conversations that result in personal and professional growth.

As a psychotherapist Lesley specialises in relationship issues and supporting people going through divorce among many other issues.

She has been a tutor/trainer for over 8 years, teaching psychotherapy and training legal practitioners, exploring such topics as Suicide Awareness, Self Reflective practice and How We Show Up in the Workplace as Authentic. Please see more information at lesleyme.co.uk

Louisa Whitney

Louisa Whitney is an accredited family mediator and child inclusive mediator.  She is also a PPC and trainer and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experiences to assist others.  She worked as a family lawyer for 11 years before undertaking mediation training.  She describes the transition as her work as a lawyer helping people to put out fires they’d started and her work as a mediator teaching the separating couple how to avoid starting the fires in the first place.  In 2013 she set up a standalone mediation practice to offer high quality, empathetic mediation to separating couples with an emphasis on teaching them the communication skills to manage their separation calmly, constructively, consciously and compassionately.

Week One

  • What does do no harm mean in the context of working with those going through a separation
    • What does it mean for us?
    • Our clients?
    • Our colleagues

  • Working within our own remit and knowing when to seek other professional intervention
    • Suicide
    • Trauma
    • Safeguarding
    • Looking at when we might feel compelled to work outside our remit

Week Two

  • Looking at language and potential harm through words
    • Impact of language on others
  • Owning our own stuff
    • Feeling triggered in meetings/hearings
    • Dealing with colleagues and more senior members of staff
    • What happens after the meeting/hearing for all concerned?
    • Boundaries
    • Additional support

£245 early bird price if booked before 3rd April or £295 if booked after that. To book email Louisa.

Understanding and managing high conflict clients for lawyers and mediators on Thursday 7th March 9.30 to 11.30 a.m.

Have you found that clients seem to be more overwhelmed, less understanding and more demanding since the pandemic started?  Are you dealing with more clients who are also struggling with mental health issues?  Managing the implications of a global pandemic along side every day life has taken its toll on everyone – clients and practitioners alike.  Everyone seems less able to handle conflict but yet caught up in more conflict.  It’s a challenging time for those working to support clients who are separating.

This workshop will help you to:

  • Identify cases where two parties are creating high conflict or where it may only be one party that is creating the illusion that it’s two parties caught up in conflict
  • Understand why conflict occurs and how to spot the signs of a potentially high conflict case at the earliest point.  Louisa will share some understanding of reasons why conflict occurs and how you can have processes in place to deal with high conflict cases in the right way from the outset
  • Be aware of particular factors that can mean a case is perceived as high conflict – this may be where a client has some form of personality disorder – and where it is two parties caught up in high conflict for example where there is a gulf between the clients in the grieving process, where one or both clients may have under developed communication skills and other such situations.
  • Develop strategies to help you manage the conflict so you feel like you are being proactive rather than reactive.  This may involve particular ways of communicating or including additional outside support as a routine measure in some cases.
  • Maintain and enforce personal boundaries to reduce stress levels.  We all know high conflict cases can be draining for many practitioners and it is important to maintain an awareness of your own stress levels.
  • Think about what wellbeing means to you and how you might support and look after yourself more when dealing with high conflict clients

Feedback from this course

“The training was really useful in helping identify when and why someone (one client, two clients etc) is high conflict and what to do if this arises. Really made me consider matters in more depth, and analyse my own listening/communication styles. Very useful to learn about boundaries to put in place to effectively manage high conflict clients.”

“I really enjoyed the practical tips that Louisa gave us once we had discussed different types of high conflict individuals. I also felt it helpful to discuss how to separate out high conflict couples or if it’s one high conflict person causing the problem on their own.

It was also great to have a space to share experiences of high conflict cases with others who are in a similar boat.”

£99 early bird price if booked before 29th February 2024 or £149 if booked after that. To book email Louisa.

Growing your family mediation practice on Tuesday 9th January 2024 at 9.30 a.m.

This webinar has now run several times and has received fantastic feedback.  It has been instrumental in helping both new and experienced mediators develop strategies to enable them to grow their mediation practices.  It focuses on how to get work as a mediation practice – whether you are working solo or as part of a team.

In the webinar we focus on:

  • The three most important aspects of business growth: having a vision, having a clear plan and being authentic.
  • We’ll look at what your vision is and why it’s YOUR vision that is important and no one else’s.
  • We’ll talk about what it really means to be authentic and why it’s important.
  • We will also look at what are the fundamentals of a business plan.
  • We will also talk about marketing because if you don’t have a strategy to get the work in your business plan is just a dream.
  • I will also talk about fears and limiting beliefs because it may not be the lack of know how that’s holding you back.
  • Lastly, after the webinar I’ll send you a business plan and marketing plan template to get you started.
  • I see so many people who come away from mediation foundation courses lit up and excited and full of enthusiasm for their new work.  This can drain away where you struggle to find work leaving you frustrated and less enthusiastic.  This webinar is designed to give you practical tips to help you find the mediation work you need to complete your portfolio, to gain your experience and to start to develop an income stream from family mediation.

Those that have already attended this webinar have been kind enough to share the following feedback:

“I loved the format of the training, the inspirational quotes and personal anecdotes from Louisa. It felt nurturing rather than being lectured to which I particularly enjoyed. I cannot suggest anything to improve the training”.

“Louisa presents very articulately. My attention was held throughout. I appreciated the variety in the presentation – words, pictures, opportunity for own thinking and time to ask questions. There was thought-through, practical advice which made a lot of sense. It was really helpful to be able to learn from Louisa’s experience. It was motivational and inspiring. I would certainly recommend the course to anyone wanting to develop their mediation practice”.

£99 if booked before 18th December 2023, £149 if booked after that.  Anyone signed up will be sent the recording so you don’t have to attend live

To book your place on this workshop please email Louisa

Growing your family mediation practice on Tuesday 12th September 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. .

This webinar has now run several times and has received fantastic feedback.  It has been instrumental in helping both new and experienced mediators develop strategies to enable them to grow their mediation practices.  It focuses on how to get work as a mediation practice – whether you are working solo or as part of a team.

In the webinar we focus on:

  • The three most important aspects of business growth: having a vision, having a clear plan and being authentic.
  • We’ll look at what your vision is and why it’s YOUR vision that is important and no one else’s.
  • We’ll talk about what it really means to be authentic and why it’s important.
  • We will also look at what are the fundamentals of a business plan.
  • We will also talk about marketing because if you don’t have a strategy to get the work in your business plan is just a dream.
  • I will also talk about fears and limiting beliefs because it may not be the lack of know how that’s holding you back.
  • Lastly, after the webinar I’ll send you a business plan and marketing plan template to get you started.
  • I see so many people who come away from mediation foundation courses lit up and excited and full of enthusiasm for their new work.  This can drain away where you struggle to find work leaving you frustrated and less enthusiastic.  This webinar is designed to give you practical tips to help you find the mediation work you need to complete your portfolio, to gain your experience and to start to develop an income stream from family mediation.

Those that have already attended this webinar have been kind enough to share the following feedback:

“I loved the format of the training, the inspirational quotes and personal anecdotes from Louisa. It felt nurturing rather than being lectured to which I particularly enjoyed. I cannot suggest anything to improve the training”.

“Louisa presents very articulately. My attention was held throughout. I appreciated the variety in the presentation – words, pictures, opportunity for own thinking and time to ask questions. There was thought-through, practical advice which made a lot of sense. It was really helpful to be able to learn from Louisa’s experience. It was motivational and inspiring. I would certainly recommend the course to anyone wanting to develop their mediation practice”.

£99 if booked before 31st August 2023, £149 if booked after that.  Anyone signed up will be sent the recording so you don’t have to attend live (but it’s best if you can).

To book your place on this workshop please email Louisa

Working in Family law for Highly Sensitive People on Wednesday 10th May 9.30 to 11.30 a.m.

Have you ever been told you’re a bit too sensitive for working with those going through a separation?  Do you ever wonder if something is wrong with you because things seem to get to you at work in a way that they don’t seem to for your colleagues?  Have you been told you’re particularly sensitive in your life (this may have been a negative or a positive comment)? 

Nurture sensitivities

In this workshop we will look at:

  • The main traits of a Highly Sensitive Person (sometimes called an empath)
  • How these can be your superpower and your Achilles heel.  You may find you are in tune in understanding clients and colleagues in a way that others aren’t but you may also find you tire easily and find yourself feeling run down and getting ill or exhausted.
  • Boundaries for you and how you might implement these in a kind but firm way.  These might be physical in terms of time and space but they may also be energetic in learning how to deal with negativity around you which may particularly affect you.
  • Things can you do if you’d like to embrace your sensitivity further rather than trying to hide it or overcome it.
  • Practical strategies to assist you in managing a job that is often demanding and upsetting in a way that does not deplete you.
  • This will be an interactive workshop with some time for learning, some time for reflection and some time for discussions.

Feedback from this workshop:

“It was very supportive very freeing, Louisa allowed time for participants to talk about their own experiences and Louisa talked about hers. I think it might be impossible to deliver the workshop unless you are a HSP yourself”.

“Brilliant – it’s the training I have enjoyed the most in the last 12 months!

£149 early bird price if booked before 28th April or £209 if booked after that. To book email Louisa.

The 4 Cs of effective communication and using language artfully – Wednesday 18th January 2023 at 1 p.m.

I ran this workshop last year for the super low price of £35 to celebrate 10 years since I became a family mediator. It was a real celebration of all that I had learned about effective communication and using language in a way that promotes collaboration and being solution focused.  I didn’t think I would run it for such a low price again but I decided that it would be a wonderful to lawyers and mediators as part of Family Mediation Week so here I am running this again for just £35.

Listening is an essential part of effective communication

It will be recorded so you don’t have to attend live if that’s difficult (but joining live means you can participate more and ask questions).

In this hour long webinar I will be talking about the 4 Cs which I see as the fundamental pillars of effective communication: Calm, Constructive, Conscious and Compassionate.  I’ll be talking about each C and explaining more about what I mean. I will outline the basics of each pillar as well as some of the complexities.  The Constructive part will focus very much on language and the role that plays in conflict and give you practical tips to ensure that the language you use with your clients promotes collaboration and a solution focused approach. Language has the power to pull people together or push them apart, as we so often see in family disputes.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you thought negotiations or discussions were going well and then things seem to change it could be you’re missing a trick with your language.  I’ve learnt so much in the last 10 years and I’ve distilled it into a really easy to follow approach which includes practical tips.

This workshop is for family lawyers and mediators and anyone else who’d like to understand the essentials of effective communication for working with those going through a separation. It’s a new way of evaluating difficulties with communication by looking at it from the point of you of four essential pillars and identifying which are working OK and which are not.

This webinar ran last year on 11th July and 15th September and this is what people have said about it:

  • “great webinar on effective communication today”
  • “Brilliant workshop with Louisa Whitney about the 4 pillars of communication – calm, constructive, conscious and compassionate. Catch it if can – it will be run again in September”.
  • “Highly recommend Louisa’s training, really interesting and lots to think about, thank you!”
  • “I enjoyed the clear presentation, good tech and slides. Very simply put. Louisa is a great trainer, course was put together very thoughtfully, easy to follow. I would recommend this webinar to anyone, not just for mediators or solicitors”.
  • “I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar – thank you for arranging it”.
  • “A refreshing approach to communication with some new ideas and wisdom whilst being grounded in practical mediation skills”.

You can read feedback about it on 

Linkedin

Twitter

£35 and you get access to the recording to watch the replay for one month.

To book your place on this workshop and for any questions please email Louisa

For details of future training events and workshops:

Lawyers sign up here

Mediators sign up here

You can sign up for both lists if you’re a mediator and a lawyer.

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