Befriending Conflict: How to Make Conflict Safer, More Productive, and More Fun, Paperback

Befriending conflict - what an idea Among the hundreds of people author Joe Goodbread has helped with conflicts ranging from everyday family and neighborly disputes, to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, most would rather avoid conflict completely, than risk the emotional pain, potential violence, and loss of personal power that they associate with conflict. But each year, more and more people are finding that conflict can be fun Using the simple methods of Befriending Conflict, you, too, can enjoy the buzz of productive and humane conflict, deepening your most important relationships while minimizing the risk of escalation and loss. Befriending Conflict is a concise, "how to" book that gives you easy steps for recycling conflict into personal growth, sustainable relationships, and self-empowerment. Befriending Conflict fills a growing need for guidance in dealing with emotions and other disturbing states of mind in all aspects of conflict facilitation and dispute resolution, a topic that is gaining increasing attention as the more technical aspects of conflict management mature. Befriending Conflict is the first book that shows how strong emotions and power, approached with curiosity and awareness, can enhance any conflict management method, in any venue. In addition to standing on its own as a guide to preparing for conflict, it can be used as an adjunct to any other work on conflict management. Befriending Conflict rests on age-old principles brought up to date and presented in the form of simple exercises, accessible to anyone with an interest in making conflict into more of an ally and less of a feared but unavoidable burden.

Joe Goodbread is one of the architects of the acclaimed Befriending Conflict program, sponsored by the European Union, to help community workers along the Northern Irish border cope with the stress and anxiety of the highly charged conflictual atmosphere in which they worked. He teaches and practices conflict management and psychotherapy in Portland, Oregon and throughout the world. He is the author of three previous books and numerous articles on Process Oriented Psychology.