The focus of this book is on mediation, a third party intervention role that can be undertaken by supervisors, managers, human resource professionals, marriage and family therapists, teachers, mediators, peace keepers, and parents. The authors make a strong case for the central role of empathy in promoting a successful mediation, especially when ongoing relationships between the parties are at stake. This book provides a thoughtful study of the important role of empathy in mediation through the development of a theoretical model to explain the effectiveness of Nonviolent Communication...

Our personal stories shape our lives. Human beings were designed to create stories, make meaning, and interpret the world we perceive. This ability to make meaning defines our humanity as opposed to animals or plants. Our stories about ourselves and others are the meaning that we have made up to make sense of something that has happened. However, our suffering also lies primarily in the meaning that we have given to what has happened. If we assign the meaning to what happened, then we also are empowered to change the meaning that we create. To regain our empowerment, we have an opportunity...