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Solution-Focused Conflict Management

Course Description

Target Audience: Social workers, counselor, and other mental health professionals.

Course Content Level: Advanced

Number of CE Hours: 8

Type of CE hours: General

Delivery format: Reading based asynchronous distance learning.

Course completion requirements:
How to Obtain Continuing Education Credit
Please follow the steps below to obtain the necessary contact hours of home study continuing
education credit:

1. Read course objectives.
2. Study the course text:

3. The questions for the final examination are attached here. Answer these questions by marking
your Scantron card:
Write your name on every Scantron card in the space provided. Also write the exam title
in the space marked “Subject”.
True/false examination Mark the Scantron card as follows: Use A for true answers, B for
false answers. Disregard C, D and E.
Multiple-choice questions Choose the letter of the correct answer and mark the Scantron
card accordingly.
Marking the Scantron card Use No. 2 pencil only. Make dark marks. Erase completely to
change.
4. Complete the licensure information on the examination sheet.

5. Return the scantron card, examination sheet and student evaluation of the course.
You’ll need 70% correct score on the post-test for successful completion of the course.

6. Retain a copy of the answers for your record.
Homestead Schools, Inc. is solely responsible for the quality and content of this CE
program and for the selection of its instructor/author, and receives no outside financial
support in the preparation, presentation or implementation of its CE activities.
The sponsor has no affiliation with companies whose products or services are mentioned
in this course material; they are mentioned only for their educational and
informational value. The sponsor’s sole source of revenue is the tuition paid by
participants like you in its CE program.

Instructor Credentials: N/A

ACE Provider Approval Statement: Homestead Schools, Inc., 1070, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Assoiciation of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses for continuing education credit.
ACE provider approval period: 4/2/2023-4/2/2026. Social workers completing this course receive 8 General continuing education credits.

ADA Accomodations: Homestead Schools, Inc. ensures that its facilities accommodate and are accessible according to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Cancellation/Refund Policy: Should you need to cancel your order or if you are not satisfied with the quality of our course material, you can return the course (before a certificate is issued) within 90 days and receive a prompt and full refund (less shipping and handling.)

Course last updated: June, 2024

Course Outline

Introduces a new form of conflict management that is shorter, more hopeful, and more cost-effective than traditional methods – essential reading for mediators, lawyers, jury experts, and managers.

Benjamin Franklin said: “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.” In the new and highly successful approach of solution-focused (SF) conflict management described in this book the focus is on discovering these opportunities to find the “win-win” scenario. The key lies in asking eliciting questions about goals, exceptions, and competences and in motivating clients to change.

SF conflict management differs from traditional methods and can easily be combined with them. Meetings become more positive and shorter, ensuring that solution-focused conflict management is also cost effective.

Essential reading for all those who manage conflicts, this book provides a detailed description of the SF model, its theoretical background, and practical applications in divorce, workplace, family, neighbor, personal injury, and victim-offender conflicts.

About Authors

Fredrike Bannink

After her Master degree at the University of Amsterdam, in 1980 Frederike Bannink specialized as a cliincal psychologist, child & youth psychologist specialist level and as a congnitive begavioral therapist.

Fredrike has worked in many institutions in the mental health field from psychiatric hospitals to outpatient clinics. Since 1981 she is owner and director of a private practice in Amsterdam, where she has treated hundreds of clients: adults, children and their families.

From the ’90 she started working in a solution-focused way instead of a problem-focused way: in solution focus the focus is on the preferred future of the clients instead of on their problems. Problem analysis is replaced by goal analysis. She considers clients to be competent to define their goal and finding solutions to reach their preferred future.

Besides working as a psychotherapist, she is a post-graduate trainer in the field of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), solution-focused brief therapy (SFCBT), solution-focused cognitive behavior therapy (SFCBT), and positive psychology (PP).

She is the author of many international publications on CBT, SFBT, SFCBT and PP.

Fredrike Bannink is the author of books and articles on:

Learning Objectives

After completing this course you’ll be able to:

  1. Define solution-focused conflict management.
  2. Describe game theory.
  3. Discuss quantum mechanics and neuroscience.
  4. Describe the hope theory.
  5. Discuss the broaden and build theory.
  6. Discuss the five propositions of De Shazer.
  7. State the definition of problems according to Watzlawick et al. (1974)
  8. Describe microanalysis.
  9. State the four dimensions in conflict thinking according to DeBono.
  10. Compare traditional and solution-focused conflict management.
  11. Discuss hope.
  12. Discuss the solution-focused question, “What difference would that make?”
  13. Discuss the solution-focused question, “What is already working in the right direction?”
  14. Discuss the fourth solution-focused question, “What would be your next step?”
  15. Describe the three phases of escalation.
  16. Compare direct and indirect compliments.
  17. Compare the visitor relationship and complaintant relationship
  18. Discuss the research by Miller et al. (1997) regarding highly effective therapists.
  19. Describe normalization.
  20. Discuss selective attention theory.
  21. Discuss forgiveness.
  22. Describe consensus building.
  23. Describe the oxytocin hormone.
  24. Describe the Session Rating Scale and state the four scaling areas.
  25. Discuss solution-focused communication questions.
  26. Compare Problem-Solving Mediation and Solution-Focused Mediation.
  27. Compare Transformative Mediation and Solution-Focused Mediation.
  28. Compare Narrative Mediation and Solution-Focused Mediation.
  29. Discuss the theory of Foa and Foa (1975).
  30. Discuss the four pathways to impossibility.
  31. Discuss restorative justice and reconciliation.

Course Contents

  1. Bloodtaking and Peacemaking
  2. Background Issues
  3. Solution-Focused Interviewing
  4. Solution-Focused Conflict Management
  5. Four Basic Solution-Focused Questions
  6. More Solution-Focused Questions
  7. Divorce Mediation
  8. Working Alliance and Motivation to Change
  9. Neighbor Conflict Mediation
  10. More Solution-Focused Tools
  11. Team Mediation
  12. Client-Directed, Outcome-Informed Conflict Management
  13. Family Mediation
  14. Brief Comparison With Other Models
  15. Personal Injury Mediation
  16. Failures
  17. Victim-Offender Mediation

Customer Comments

“Fredrike Bannink offers dozens of ideas, strategies, and techniques that can be used by conflict resolution practitioners to improve their effectiveness. A very useful book.”

Kenneth Cloke, Mediator and President, Mediators Beyond Borders, USA

“Mediators will find this an important resource. Bannink cogently demonstrates why me”diators should encourage participants to focus their attention on finding solutions rather than dwelling on the historical facts behind the problems as the preferred path to conflict resolution.”

Myer J. Sankary, Mediator-Lawyer, ADR Services, Inc., Los Angeles;
Past President of the Southern California Mediation Association, USA

“An important guide . . . Bannink moves us beyond traditional approaches with barely sufficient dialogue and barely sufficient solutions to most capable dialogue and most capable solutions.”

James C. Melamed, JD, CEO of Mediate.com, USA

“With solution-focused conflict management a unique approach to mediation is presented that in the coming years will find its place along with other already existing models. What is special about it certainly becomes clear form this book.”

Friedrich Glast, Mediator, Austria

“I am very impressed about the way Fredrike Bannink develops the ideas, tools, and at-titudes of solution-focused conflict management so clearly and comprehensively.”

Peter Roehrig, Coach and Mediator, Germany