Back to Institute Archive" Institute Awarded $300,000 to Launch a National Effort in Conflict Management"
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is funding a new national effort at the University of South Florida to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques in mental health and human services. The Collaborative for Conflict Management in Mental Health is a consortium of three organizations - the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, and Advanced Dispute Resolution Systems, LLC.
Although mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques are commonly used in a variety of arenas, their application in mental health systems is just beginning. The collaborative's goal is to contribute to the development of a public/private mental health system in which conflicts are managed in a non-coercive and non-adversarial manner.
"One of the most compelling reasons for undertaking this effort is to give individuals with mental illnesses a tool to level the playing field," said Andrea Blanch, Collaborative Director. "People with mental illnesses are often disadvantaged when a conflict arises. In the mental health system, interpersonal conflicts are often not recognized for what they are, and instead, conflict gets labeled as part of the individual's pathology."
Conflicts can occur in almost any setting including housing, hospitals, long-term care facilities, the workplace and managed care agencies, as well as between organizations or agencies. ADR holds the potential to improve relationships between consumers and providers, facilitate access to services, improve the coordination of services, and reduce the use of coercive practices.
The collaborative will modify or develop alternative dispute resolution techniques for application in mental health and human service settings nationwide, as well as in other settings where mental health problems arise such as criminal justice and child welfare systems. It also plans to develop and provide training programs, offer consultation and technical assistance, and establish an information clearinghouse.
"Disagreements are part of life," added David L. Shern, Dean of the de la Parte Institute. "Giving people tools to handle conflict well is respectful to all parties."
According to the U.S. Surgeon General's recent Report on Mental Health, about 20 percent of the adult population in the United States are affected by mental disorders in any given year.