The following workshops have been accredited by the Law Society of Ontario as set out below.
Beyond the Surface: advanced skills in relational dynamics and Trauma-Responsive Collaborative Practice
This advanced workshop led by Debbie Hoffman and Annette Katchaluba invites experienced collaborative professionals to deepen their capacity to read indicators and to recognize and respond to trauma history, activations, intimate partner violence and coercive control tactics. Professionals will learn how to be trauma-responsive with clients and with other members of the team. This training will continue to build the collaborative professional’s emotional intelligence helping to more easily recognize subtle relational dynamics that emerge when trauma histories or power imbalances underlie and shape client and professional behaviour (including our own) participant decision-making, and team interactions. It will introduce and use the Relational Dynamics Inventory (RDI) to identify subtle relational dynamics, deepen conversations with clients and assist professionals in process design when there is trauma history, activation, IPV/Power Imbalance or coercive control.
Total Approved Professionalism Hours from LSO: 1 hour(s) and 0 minute(s)
Total Approved EDI Professionalism from LSO: 0 hour(s) and 30 minutes(s)
The Sulha Framework: Integrating Islamic Peacemaking Principles into Modern FDR Practice
Ibrahim Hussain is an award-winning dispute resolution expert and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). With over a decade of experience, he has resolved 100+ complex disputes across commercial, family, and community sectors. As the founder of Sulha Solutions, he designs and oversees custom ADR frameworks, achieving a 75% settlement rate in multi-party mediations. Ibrahim is a Ministry-appointed mediator and arbitrator, serving on the rosters of the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program and the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society (TCAS). He is a certified pioneer in Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and a facilitator trained in restorative justice frameworks. His work is grounded in a deep understanding of cross-cultural conflict, and he is the author of "Sulha: 40 Narrations on Conciliation." Fluent in six languages, including Arabic, Urdu, and Punjabi, Ibrahim brings a unique, practical, and culturally-attuned perspective to the art of family peacemaking.
Total Approved Professionalism Hours from LSO: 0 hour(s) and 30 minute(s)
Total Approved EDI Professionalism Hours from LSO: 1 hour(s) and 0 minutes(s)
From Conflict to Connection: High-Conflict Parenting Coaching with New Ways for Families
Moderated by Jennifer Suzor, Krista Konrad and Adam McKinley will lead an interactive 90-minute workshop highlighting how they use an adapted version of Bill Eddy’s New Ways for Families (NWFF) in their child protection and high conflict parenting mediation work. NWFF is a structured, skills-focused approach designed to help parents in high-conflict situations shift from entrenched disputes toward constructive, child-centered solutions. The focus will be ways to incorporate this into mediation and collaborative processes. The session also highlights how this program helps parents shift from adversarial thinking toward constructive, child-focused decision making. The presentation will highlight how to guide parents through a series of sessions where they learn and practice core skills: flexible thinking, managed emotions, moderate behaviors, and checking yourself. A key feature of the program is the development and exchange of a Parenting Change Request form, where each parent identifies their priorities and goals for their children as well as their requested changes from the other parent. This document serves as a foundation for a subsequent mediation or collaborative session, fostering respectful dialogue, empathy, and workable parenting agreements.
Participants will gain practical coaching techniques as well as a detailed understanding of the process and outcomes of the New Ways for Families approach, equipping professionals with tools they can integrate into their practice to support families moving from conflict toward connection.
Total Approved Professionalism hours from LSO: 1 hour(s) and 30 minute(s)
Beyond Bias: Practicing Cultural Humility in CONSENSUL DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Satinder Brar will explore how cultural humility—a lifelong process of self-reflection, curiosity, and openness—can transform the mediation experience. Rather than striving for static 'cultural competence,' cultural humility emphasizes connecting through process: meeting clients where they are, acknowledging our own biases, and co-creating a respectful, inclusive space for resolution. This approach strengthens trust and allows clients to feel heard, valued, and empowered, regardless of their cultural background or worldview. By the end of this interactive session, participants will be able to:
• Define cultural humility and distinguish it from cultural competence in the context of mediation.
• Understand how cultural humility enhances connection and trust throughout the mediation process.
• Identify implicit biases, power dynamics, and cultural assumptions that can affect client-mediator relationships.
• Apply culturally humble strategies to support equity, empathy, and inclusion during family mediation.
• Reflect on their own cultural identities and develop tools for ongoing self-awareness.
Participants will also have group discussions and learn practical tools to build trust and connection with clients through the mediation process.
Total Approved EDI Professionalism: 1 hour(s) and 30 minutes(s)
INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN: EMBRACING NEURODIVERSITY IN FAMILY LAW ADR
Caroline Felstiner and Allana Boussey will explore how neurodivergence in parents and children can shape communication, decision-making, emotional regulation, sensory processing, and stress responses within family law processes. This session supports mediators, lawyers, and collaborative practitioners in recognizing neurodivergent traits and understanding how these differences influence negotiation, parenting discussions, and conflict resolution. Participants will learn how to thoughtfully adapt mediation and collaborative processes, expand IPV screening to account for neurodivergent behaviour patterns, and create supportive structures that allow neurodivergent clients to participate fully, safely, and effectively.
Drawing on research, case examples, and practical strategies, this workshop reframes neurodiversity as a critical consideration in inclusive dispute resolution rather than an exception to be managed. The presentation highlights preparation techniques, process adaptations, and goal-setting strategies that increase clarity, predictability, and accessibility for all participants. Emphasis is placed on distinguishing coercive control from behaviours rooted in self-regulation or safety-seeking, expanding circles of support, and fostering parenting plans that are realistic, respectful, and sustainable. The session concludes with opportunities for reflection, discussion, and shared learning among participants.
Total Approved EDI Professionalism: 1 hour(s) and 30 minutes(s)
Cultural Bridges in Family Peacemaking: Integrating Dialogue, Identity & Connection in Process
Lara Traum, grounded in practice from Queens, New York - one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the United States - will lead this workshop which explores how identity, culture, and power shape family conflict and resolution. Using illustrations and interactive dialogue, participants will examine common elements that arise when mediating in multi-identity contexts such as immigrant family experiences, interfaith dynamics, language differences, and how cultural narratives can either hinder or support meaningful resolution. Designed for mediators, family law professionals, therapists, and conflict resolution practitioners, the session offers practical tools for building trust across difference and co-creating processes that feel legitimate and humane for all participants. Emphasizing outcomes beyond agreement alone (such as relational repair, cultural dignity, and psychological safety) this workshop will empower practitioners to build deeper, more durable bridges in family peacemaking.
Total Approved EDI Professionalism: 1 hour(s) and 30 minutes(s)