Repairing Injured Relationships

A Healer's Guide to the to the Beyond Intractability Website¹

• Do you think apologies are necessary, or at a minimum helpful, in enabling people to move past problems in their lives?
  
  
• Do you encourage opening the lines of communication and engaging in negotiation when people are in conflict but are not talking?
  
  
• If someone from another group approaches you to enter into a dialogue that could be difficult for you, do you engage?

If you answered "yes" to one or more of the above questions, then you are probably a healer. And if you are a healer, then this site is for you!

Who are Healers?

At the core of many conflicts lie emotions — anger, fear, humiliation, hatred, insecurity, and grief. The wounds may run deep. Even if a conflict appears to be resolved after a process of mediation, adjudication, or voting, the wounds may remain, and with them, the danger that the conflict could recur. A conflict cannot be considered fully resolved until the injured relationships have begun to heal. The role of the healer is to assist in this process.

For More Information

• Sources of Injury
• Approaches that Healers Might Find Useful
• Resources for Healers
• Third Sider Roles
• Main Third Side Edition Page

[1] Much of the material on this user guide is drawn from www.thirdside.org. Thanks to William Ury and Joshua Weiss for giving us permission to republish their material here.