Blog — MV Mediation Center

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Mediation Musings: Metaphors, Symbols, Figurative Language

Mediation Musings: Metaphors, Symbols, Figurative Language

Conflict and dispute resolution is a difficult process for folks to wrap their heads around. As mediators and other conflict resolution service providers seek help participants, they find themselves drawing upon various types of figurative and symbolic language. As Tammy Lenski, conflict resolution researcher and practitioner, writes: “The way we frame a problem has a powerful impact on the solutions we can see . . . metaphor(s) orients us differently to a conflict and influences how we think, act, and resolve it.”

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