Webinar 3: Breaking Blame and Healing Shame: Helping People "Armor Off" in Special Education
Date and Time:
March 18, 2026, from 1:00-3:00 PM
Description:
"Hurt people, hurt people." You've probably seen that dynamic play out in conflicts. The "weapons" are blame and belittlement. The reaction is usually shame and defensiveness -- people "Armor Up". The combination creates toxicity that erodes the basis for positive action. This is a difficult cycle to change. In this webinar, we talk about how to see the blame/shame cycle in action. What blaming language is happening? What shame shields are being lifted? And you'll learn techniques to use within the special education setting to break blame and heal shame; conversations you can use to support a party, and/or lessen the toxicity in your own conflicts. Further, we'll discuss how these tools can be especially valuable when you find yourself in a special education mediation -- indeed, why special education mediation is such a perfect process for helping parties in these toxic cycles. 2 CTLE Credits
Presenter:
Tricia Jones is a Professor of Communication and Social Influence and Director of the Center for Conflict Management and Media Impact at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. She is a senior consultant for CADRE, the national Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education. Dr. Jones brings more than 35 years of experience in conflict resolution to improving special education dispute systems. She designs conflict education, coaching, and mediation interventions that support students, families, educators, and state agencies, with extensive work in K–12 settings and statewide dispute resolution systems. Since 2013, she has strengthened special education dispute resolution across New York by integrating conflict coaching into the 62-county Community Dispute Resolution Center network and partnering with the New York State Dispute Resolution Association to train mediators and empower families, most recently through the New York State Education Department (NYSED) funding. She has also advised Maryland, Massachusetts, and California SELPAs on building capacity for conflict coaching and best practices for resolving special education disputes. Through her national consulting, research, and training—including directing the Conflict Resolution Education in
Teacher Education project, which has prepared thousands of educators in conflict resolution—Dr. Jones continues to advance equitable, accessible, and family-centered approaches to special education dispute prevention and resolution.
