‘An error is feedback’: the experience of communication error management in crisis negotiations

A range of studies have examined what should be said and done in crisis negotiations. Yet, no study to date has considered what happens when an error is made, how to respond to an error, and what the consequences of errors and responses might be on the negotiation process itself. To develop our understanding of errors, we conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with police crisis negotiators in the Netherlands. Negotiators reported making errors of three types: factual, judgment, or contextual. They also reported making use of four types of response strategy: accept, apologize, attribute, and contradict. Critically, the negotiators did not perceive errors as solely detrimental, but as an opportunity for feedback. They advocated for an error management approach, which focused on what could be learned from another person’s errors when looking back at them. Suggestions for improvement of the communication error management experience in crisis negotiations are discussed.     

It's just so difficult to get anything done: Teen mental health in the family court setting

Navigating the family court setting to protect teen mental health, meet teens' mental health needs, and promote resilience and coping skills is challenging. We have tools that can help us meet that challenge. That toolkit includes: expanding who is involved in the work to develop a parenting plan or treatment plan; not reducing the case to a one-dimensional fact pattern; restructuring family court proceedings for ongoing problem-solving, providing protections for the teen's privacy; using consensual dispute resolution and adjudication on parallel tracks; and educating the decision makers through expert declarations and Brandeis briefs (even at the trial court level).