Practice cohorts and pilots
Bring people together to learn, try and strengthen the competencies. Cohorts can also help build the awareness, practice and research the work still needs.
About Conflict First Aid™
Conflict First Aid™ fills the missing first-aid function for conflict.
It is a practical set of competencies for any of us when we are in, near or affected by conflict and its costs.
A Conflict First Aid™ interaction is voluntary, brief, bounded, and non-judgmental, helping to address a blip or waypoint: a past, present or anticipated concern, complaint, challenge or conflict. It follows the logic of standard first aid where ordinary people have learned (and are surrounded by) what helps, use it within limits, and know when and how to stop.
Know what helps. Know what not to do. Know when and how to stop.
What Conflict First Aid™ does
Briefings and workshops
See the gap Conflict First Aid™ fills and where it could live in your team, community or system. Sessions can be introductory, custom or part of a larger pilot.
Conflict consultation
Joan still practises. Consult with her about a specific conflict or challenge affecting you, a group or a system.
Ecosystem building
Conflict First Aid™ needs researchers, funders, teachers, pilot settings, communities and serious collaborators. The practice and ecosystem around it need us all.
What makes Conflict First Aid™ different
It is first aid
Not mediation, coaching or another professional process made smaller. It is the brief, bounded first-aid function that was missing on the conflict management spectrum.
It is for any of us
You do not need a formal role. You may be offering Conflict First Aid™, receiving it or using the competencies yourself.
It takes minutes, not ownership
You do not have to enter the middle, diagnose the problem, manage the people or carry what happens next.
Restraint is part of the competency
Advice, fixing, steering and fishing for solutions can all look helpful. Conflict First Aid™ teaches us to remain useful without those - and without taking over.
It is not limited to early conflict
It can fit before, during or after escalation. Help may mean recognition, a pause, a boundary, an ending, no action for now or a link onward. A solution is not required.
Who uses Conflict First Aid™
- Any of us when we are in, near or affected by conflict
- Leaders, managers, supervisors and human-resources practitioners
- Teams, workplaces and organizational systems
- Families, communities, associations and volunteer groups
- Conflict-management specialists who also need first-aid competencies
- Educators, researchers and training partners
- Communities and organizations ready to bring a cohort together
The team behind Conflict First Aid™
Joan A. Feringa, M.A., Dipl.N.Sc., Founder and Steward
For more than 30 years, Joan has worked across conflict management, mediation and facilitation, leadership and organizational systems. She has led, coached and managed teams across industry, government and academia, and taught thousands of people in conflict-management competencies.
In 2001, one question began shaping the next 25 years of her work: Do we have, and do we offer, everything needed?
Her 2002 M.A. thesis, Conflict Management Systems: A Hammer, or the Complete Toolbox?, examined whether people and organizations had the range of conflict-handling tools they actually needed. A great deal was already available. Still, valuable options could exist in the field and remain out of reach at the point of need.
In 2017, during a difficult period of change and conflict of her own, Joan needed Conflict First Aid™. A Mental Health First Aid workshop brought the missing function into focus. Some learners were mental-health nurses who said they had few, if any, of those first-aid competencies despite their specialist experience supporting people in escalated crises.
Specialist expertise does not automatically include first-aid competency. Joan had seen the same truth among conflict specialists, including specialists deeply mired in conflicts themselves.
What was missing was not another form of coaching, mediation or professional conflict intervention. It was not limited to early conflict.
It was first aid.
That night, Joan searched the name. Conflict First Aid was available in every major domain version she checked. Given how old, ordinary and costly human conflict is, it should not have been.
It had been hiding in plain sight. The name came quickly. Testing it took years.
Joan now teaches and coaches at the School of Health, Community, and Social Justice at the Justice Institute of British Columbia and serves on the boards of Mediate BC and the HMCS QUADRA Alumni Association.
Conflict First Aid™ is still founder-led and in Foundations and Stewardship mode. Early learners, Plank Owners, practice cohorts, colleagues and collaborators have helped bring it this far. They are SO appreciated.
It is not too late. We are still building.
How Conflict First Aid™ works
Start with fit
Have a question, cohort or possible home for the work? Book a free 15-minute call and tell Joan what kind of conversation you need.
Learn, then begin practising
Foundations provides the information and orientation to start. Competency grows through practice, reflection, feedback and respect for the guardrails.
Work directly with Joan
Joan currently leads the briefings, workshops, consultations and pilot conversations. Calls are booked through TidyCal and usually take place on Zoom.
Stop or link onward when needed
Conflict First Aid™ does not replace emergency, therapeutic, investigative, legal or professional conflict services. Knowing when and how to stop is part of the competency.
Key facts
| Fact | Current information |
|---|---|
| Name | Conflict First Aid™ |
| Type | Founder-led movement and ecosystem development project |
| Origin | Identified and named in 2017. First certificates awarded in 2020. |
| Founder | Joan A. Feringa, M.A., Dipl.N.Sc. |
| Based in | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Websites | ConflictFirstAid.org and ConflictNavigator.com |
| Core offering | Practical competencies for voluntary, brief and non-judgmental Conflict First Aid™ interactions |
| Learning and services | Foundations, cohorts, pilots, briefings, workshops, consultation, research collaboration and ecosystem development |
| Pricing | Varies by offering. Selected cohorts and pilots may currently be free or low cost. |
| Contract terms | Agreed by engagement. No standard fixed-term contract is currently offered. |
| Communication | Email, Zoom and TidyCal |
| People and settings served | Individuals, teams, leaders, organizations, communities, practitioners and learning cohorts |
| Work delivered | Certificate workshops, practice cohorts, custom workshops, consultations and briefings |
| Published clients | A client list is not currently published |
| Competitors and adjacent practices | No direct equivalent has been identified. Related but distinct practices include mediation, conflict coaching, de-escalation, collaborative practice and restorative practice. |
| Social | Joan Feringa on LinkedIn |
Frequently asked questions
What is Conflict First Aid™?
It is a practical set of competencies that fills a critical gap in the conflict toolbox and management spectrum. An interaction is voluntary, brief and non-judgmental, helping to contemplate and address a blip or waypoint.
Who is it for?
Any of us when we are in, near or affected by conflict and its costs. We may use the competencies for ourselves or with someone else.
Is it mediation or coaching?
No. Those practices matter, but they do different work. Conflict First Aid™ does not make the person offering it the specialist or put them in the middle.
Is it only for early conflict?
No. It can fit before, during or after escalation. The question is not whether the conflict is early, but whether brief, voluntary first aid fits now.
How long does it take?
An interaction is often three to five minutes and may be repeated. It is brief and bounded, not ongoing help by design or default.
What does practice-ready mean?
Ready to begin practising and honing the competencies. It does not mean already competent, certified or finished learning.
Does it solve the conflict?
It does not have to. Help may mean contemplation, recognition, orientation, a boundary, a pause, an ending, no present action or a link onward.
What if first aid is not enough?
Stop, report, set a boundary or link onward as needed. Risk, harm, power-over, role authority or complexity may exceed first-aid fit.
Can my organization explore a pilot?
Yes. If you can bring a cohort together for awareness, practice or research, book a free 15-minute call and bring the opportunity.
Can Joan help with a specific conflict?
Yes. Book a paid consultation through TidyCal for a conflict affecting you, a group or a system.
Help build what has been missing
Making Conflict First Aid™ ordinary and accessible will take many of us. Curious about the work, see a place where it could live or want to help build it? Let us talk.