HDRA Webinar – Forgiveness: The New ADR Tool - Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Once you register you will be sent
the Zoom link the day before the webinar. Click here: https://www.heartlanddisputeresolutionassociation.org/monthly-webinar-registration/ (This webinar will not be video-taped to watch at a later
date) You need 6 KS CDRE hours for your KS 2026
state approval including one Domestic Violence hour or one ethics hour.
Heartland Dispute Resolution Association
Wednesday February
19, 2025 / Forgiveness: The New
ADR Tool
Diane Sherwood, MSW,
J.D.
11:30am to 1:30pm
2 KS CDRE Hours – Pending
2 KS CLE Hours – Pending
2.4 MCLE Hours - Pending
FORGIVENESS: THE NEW ADR TOOL / What it is and how
to use it.
Forgiveness is an often misunderstood term. In scientific terms, forgiveness is the
displacement of negative attitudes and the transformation of negative feelings
into positive feelings. Forgiveness is a
healthy attempt to cope with negativity.
In the lay sense, it is letting go of that which brings one pain. Notice
that descriptions involve the actions of one person. Forgiveness is not necessarily interactive.
However, most people believe that forgiveness is for “the other.” When a lay person is presented with the idea
of forgiveness, s/he often feels a fear to deal with the other person or an
anger that they would get off scot-free for all their misdeeds. This forgiveness training is a unilateral
process. You go through forgiveness
training by yourself, for yourself. But
how is it an ADR tool? The current ADR
tools require divorced or divorcing litigants to mediation together. When one or both parties are not appropriate
for joint work, oftentimes learning forgiveness allows them to move closer to
being able to work together. At a
minimum, it allows at least one party to gain peace during a difficult time in
their life and to bring less vitriol to the courtroom.
Diane Sherwood has been on a lifelong journey to bring peace
to her community. A native Kansan and fourth generation attorney, Diane
graduated from The Colorado College with a degree in psychology with an
emphasis in behavior management. She earned her law degree at The University of
Tulsa, College of Law. In 1995 she
became a Kansas Supreme Court approved mediator. She founded The Conflict
Resolution Center mediating family law matters and managing high-conflict divorces.
She taught mediation at Newman University while she earned her Masters of
Social Work with an emphasis on healthy family systems. She began handling divorces as an attorney
and became a skilled litigator. As mediator for and manager of conflicted parents and a
divorce attorney for twenty-five years, Diane sought to help those who
struggled with family problems. She is
an expert in behavior management with the most highly conflicted families in
Kansas and beyond. Then, in an effort to realign with her core values, Sherwood
retired from the practice of law and began practicing peace. She was trained in Forgiveness in 2020-21,
founded The Center for Peace and Forgiveness and now trains others to forgive
and to heal, while continuing her ADR practice.
She has learned a better way to help those who struggle with anger, hurt
and anxiety as she helps them learn the steps to forgiveness and peace. Diane introduced the concept of Forgiveness as an ADR tool
to the District Court in her jurisdiction, which now identifies appropriate
litigants and orders them to Forgiveness Training. Diane presented on
Forgiveness to the Wichita Bar Association in December, 2022, at the ABA’s ADR
section meeting in April, 2024 and the National ACR conference in November,
2024. Diane is a Forgiveness Practitioner, ADR specialist, lawyer, social
worker, wife, mother, stepmother and grandmother.
HDRA Webinar – Hidden in Plain Sight: Dynamics of Domestic
Violence - Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Once you register you will be sent the Zoom link the day before the webinar. (This webinar will not be video-taped to watch at a later
date) You need 6 KS CDRE hours for your KS 2026
state approval including one Domestic Violence hour or one ethics hour.
Future Webinars Scheduled for 2024: 3rd Wednesday every month:
Start time: 11:30am
At this time the HMA website will only accept one webinar
registration at a time.
Please let me know if you are interested in presenting a
webinar. Thank you!
Feb 19, 2025: Diane Sherwood -
Forgiveness as an ADR Tool (2 hrs) (2 CDRE, 2 CLE, 2.4 MCLE)
Mar 19, 2025: Jeanne Erikson - Narcissistic Abuse Cycles in Marriage & Divorce (1 hr)
April 3 & 4, 2025: – Bill Eddy
Conference - Managing and Mediating High Conflict Disputes (1.5 days)
May 21, 2025: Jennifer Chappell Deckert .
Strategic Use of Conferencing & Caucus for Mediation and DR (1 hr)
June 18, 2025: Tonya Ricklefs – Elder Mediation (1 hr)
July 16, 2025: Deborah Medlock - You Screen for DV, then What? (1hr)
Aug 20, 2025: Kay McCarthy - Child Inclusive Mediation (1 or 2? hr)
Sep 17, 2025: Ethics – Lloyd Swartz (1 hr)
Oct 15, 2025: Kay Prather – Agriculture (1 hr)
Nov 19, 2025: Jerry Jost - Working with Emotions & Blame:
Dialing Back the Temperature (1 hr)
Dec 17, 2025: Amanda Jacobsen - KS
Office of Judicial Administration (1 hr) Free
One-hour webinar pricing:
HMA Member: $30
Non-HMA Member: $45
Full Time Student: $15
Two-hour webinar pricing:
HMA Member: $50
Non-HMA Member: $80
Full Time Student: $25