What is Conflict First Aid™?

WHAT IS Conflict First Aid™?

Joan Feringa (McLeod) describes Conflict First Aid™'s powerful origin and purpose, but first in this description of the video, an update and GOOD news: you may have been asking, "where has Conflict First Aid™ been?"

Starting up Conflict First Aid™ has been on hiatus: we completed a big move. The pandemic disruption is behind us.

More than ever, Conflict First Aid™ is a felt gap. Filling it with research, accessibility, care and awareness is an ever greater call, so the path forward is two-pronged:

1. Reset the communities of Conflict First Aid™ specialists, navigators and learner/pathfinder communities;

2. Continue with research, book, certification workshops. We've seen a few iterations for the Conflict First Aid™ book, but it is finally getting done.

THERE *is* a Waiting List! Register for the wait list here: my.linkpod.site/CFA5steps

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Conflict First Aid™ is exactly what?

You likely know there is a missing piece. Within ourselves, in relationships and communities we have endless variations and options within systems for addressing all kinds of human challenge - but still, concerns, complaints and conflicts are so often the 'sign' on the door. They go unaddressed. People go silent. Communication is both the fix...and the problem.

We all know it: well managed dissent, concerns and conflicts are the doorways to change and understanding. We have endless energy to fight and awareness that we can freeze, run or fawn. Even so, we haven't harnessed the insight and capacity for helping. We can! We've got evidenced-based ways to support ourselves. We've long known how to help others.

You don't need to be a lawyer, counsellor or perfect parent, guru or teacher to do Conflict First Aid™ right, deliver Conflict First Aid™ well and with ease, stay calm, confident and creative.

Conflict First Aid™ is voluntary. It's neutral and it is a method you can learn to be of help to yourself and others at the first signals of escalating interests, concerns, complaints or distress.

GO A LITTLE FURTHER: nearly all systems exist to solve conflicts, yet we don't know the firsthand or first on-scene. There are endless scaffolding and support options that HELP or HINDER human resilience.

We need conflicts: debate, dispute and divergent differences help us succeed in finding ways to see and solve new (and old) problems. There are ways for dealing positively with social, relationship, team and community disruption, cost and harm and yet, they are not THERE for any of us at the lowest level, in the first moments, at hand.

Most of us know, but easily forget that conflict can be what is wanted and needed for collaboration, innovation, performance and inclusion...most of us know "lowest level" management of any concern is less costly. We don't need or want the big guns. We want freedom, and when its right, power, control, peace.

No question, improved and robust informal (and regulated) conflict management systems will be needed to solve the real concerns we all know still exist for us and those we love at home, globally and in any war - or the battleground we care about - no matter how small.

Conflict First Aid is about learning how to use the first few minutes when challenged to fight for good change and good trouble...together.

The "third side" of the first aid or health triangle, Conflict First Aid™ is the only universally helpful and SAFE, evidence-based just-in-time standard. Learn the approach. Provide support to those involved or impacted by a concern, complaint or conflict. Stay OUT of the middle. Accessible as a service or a skill (you can learn!) these universal skills for de-escalation, listening and support are simple, insightful, calming, and empowering.

Learning the skill is possible with just 1-2 days of skills training. You'll likely need practice, so you understand how integrating the skill into your own toolkit.

Conflict First Aid™ is not so different from learning standard first aid, or mental health (and psychological) first aid. As part of the learning you'll be delivering it in practice - the support is incredibly fast, simple and powerful: learn what to DO and what NOT to do when tension, stress, or disruption frustrates those around, and that matter to you.

Joan Feringa (Mcleod,) M.A. is founder of Conflict Navigator and Conflict First Aid.

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Wish you knew more NOW? Connect with a question. Get on the certification news waitlist or message by email at to ask about bringing Conflict First Aid™ to a community or leaders for intervention or engaged practices.

Visit https://conflictnavigator.com. Find us on social media. Send a message here. Contribute or check in on progress: inquire about mentoring and scholarship, workplace, family or community research opportunities, support, conflict navigation/management training, intervention, or support.

We're happy to bring it to your community, team, group, or workplace.