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High Conflict Institute · the missing peace
Specialized Training for Professionals Who Do 1:1 Work with High-Conflict Clients

New Ways® Training — for managing high-conflict behavior.

For professionals — counselors, coaches, mediators, and youth workers who want a structured way to help clients become less high-conflict.

HCI's flagship training system for the professionals who guide high-conflict cases. Our programs are designed for practical application, with select programs offering a pathway to licensure and one approved for continuing education credits.

The proven method to turn down high-conflict flames.

Choose your program → How it works Monthly consultation groups with Bill Eddy ↓
Choose the program that fits your work

Choose your program

For Counselors & Coaches

New Ways for Families®

Guide parents through divorce and co-parenting drama.

Counselors: 12 hours, live virtual

Coaches: 12 hours, live virtual + self-paced

New Ways for Families® is a structured, skills-based parent education method built for high-conflict co-parenting, where standard parent classes and traditional counseling often fall short. Professionals learn to teach parents the 4 Big Skills™ to manage emotions, think flexibly, moderate behaviors, and reduce ongoing conflict.

Two training tracks:

  • Counselor Training — for therapists and counselors working directly with parents using the New Ways for Families® Parent Workbook.
  • Coaches Training — for divorce and co-parenting coaches guiding parents through the online New Ways for Families®: Co-parenting Skills Class.

Ideal for: Counselors, therapists, divorce and co-parenting coaches, parenting coordinators, family court professionals, and court programs

Learn more — Counselors →Learn more — Coaches →

For Mediators

New Ways for Mediation®

Keep sessions on track when reactivity takes over.

12 hours, live virtual + self-paced

One-time in-person training: Ottawa, Canada, May 12–13, 2027. Details and registration →

A structured, proposal-focused method for high-conflict cases where ordinary mediation fails. Mediators get a clear process that keeps sessions moving, while clients get better outcomes by learning simple skills — including making proposals, asking questions, and responding thoughtfully — so the focus stays on problem-solving instead of venting or rigid demands.

Ideal for: All mediators who handle high-conflict cases — family, workplace, civil, community, commercial, and more

Learn more →

For Workplace Coaches

New Ways for Work®

Help employees build skills to manage behavior, workplace relationships, and conflict.

9-hour self-paced online coaches training

Learn to use the structured New Ways for Work® coaching method and workbook to help employees develop the 4 Big Skills™: Managed Emotions, Flexible Thinking, Moderate Behaviors, and Checking Yourself. This practical, skills-based approach helps coaches guide employees toward taking responsibility for their behavior, improving workplace interactions, and managing conflict more effectively—even when traditional coaching approaches fall short.

Ideal for: Workplace Coaches, HR & Employee Relations Professionals, Executive Coaches, EAP Professionals, Workplace Restoration Consultants

Learn more →

For Educators, Counselors & Youth Leaders

New Ways for Life™

Teach teens practical skills for managing emotions, behavior, relationships, and conflict.

Self-paced online instructor training

Learn to teach teens ages 12–17 the 4 Big Skills™ through a structured, ready-to-use curriculum using the New Ways for Life Youth Journal. This training equips adults to help young people manage emotions, think flexibly, moderate behaviors, and take responsibility for their actions. These skills can help teens navigate bullying, peer conflict, family stress, and everyday social challenges.

Ideal for: Teachers, School Counselors, Youth Leaders, Therapists, Coaches, Mentors, Parents & Caregivers

Learn more →
What is New Ways?

New Ways®: Skills That Keep the Conflict Small

Most conflict approaches focus on managing disputes in the moment. New Ways goes further by teaching professionals how to help their individual clients change the behaviors that fuel ongoing conflict.

Developed by Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq. at the High Conflict Institute, New Ways® is a structured, skills-based method designed for professionals who do 1:1 work with high-conflict clients. It equips you to help clients develop healthier behaviors, manage conflict more effectively, and build more productive relationships—one person at a time.

People in high-conflict situations often struggle with unmanaged emotions, extreme behaviors, all-or-nothing thinking, and a focus on blaming others. New Ways addresses these patterns directly by teaching and reinforcing four practical skills (the 4 Big Skills™) that clients can learn, practice, and use.

01

Managed Emotions

Regulating emotional reactions instead of allowing them to drive behavior.

Instead of unmanaged emotions

02

Moderate Behaviors

Responding thoughtfully rather than reacting with extremes.

Instead of extreme behaviors

03

Flexible Thinking

Moving beyond all-or-nothing thinking to consider options and solutions.

Instead of all-or-nothing thinking

04

Checking Yourself

Taking responsibility for your own behavior instead of focusing on blame.

Instead of blaming others

What makes New Ways different is its focus on teaching skills, not simply managing difficult interactions. New Ways gives you a structured method for coaching clients through learning, practicing, and applying these skills—so they become less high-conflict instead of just being managed.

Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq.
After the training · Monthly with Bill Eddy

Keep working the cases with Bill Eddy, every month.

Two monthly consultation groups for professionals delivering the method with real clients: the High Conflict Family Law Consultation Group for mediators, attorneys, and evaluators, and the New Ways for Families® Counselor Consultation Group for licensed counselors and therapists (LPC, LMFT, LCSW). Small cohort, Zoom, confidential. Join any month; 11 monthly sessions from the month you join. $1,500.

Family Law group → Counselor group → How the groups work
What you get

The method that actually works with the clients who derail everyone else.

In a world where 5–10% of people drive 90% of your conflict headaches, ordinary tools aren't enough.

New Ways Training gives professionals like you a simple, structured roadmap to guide high-conflict clients toward calmer, more productive interactions. Backed by brain science and 15+ years of real-world use, it's used worldwide — because it works where therapy, ordinary coaching, or mediation alone falls short.

After you complete one (or more) of our New Ways programs, you'll be licensed to:

  1. 1 Use the official New Ways workbooks and materials with your clients.
  2. 2 Bill yourself as a "Licensed New Ways Provider" for Families, Mediation, or Work.
  3. 3 Access ongoing resources, updates, and listing on our public provider directory.
What providers say

Used by counselors, coaches, and mediators worldwide.

"The New Ways for Mediation course was extremely valuable in my work as an external workplace mediator, investigator, coach and conflict trainer. Most beneficial were the role plays and interacting with Bill and other participants."

F.N. — Lawyer/Mediator, US

"I have followed HCI's work for quite some time and have attempted to implement the strategies, but the course was a game-changer for me to integrate the strategies and implement them immediately in my day-to-day work."

C.K. — Lawyer/Workplace Investigations/Mediator, Canada

"The underlying tone of delivery of the training and the compassion for high conflict people were things that really inspired me. It makes me want to delve even more deeply into the many resources the High Conflict Institute has available."

H.K. — Tribunal Member/Lawyer, Australia

"This training has great value for clinicians working with any level of conflict or dissention between parents who are navigating the waters of divorce. The focus this process provides is a gift to both providers and parents. But most importantly, when parents learn these valuable skills, they are changing the trajectory of their children's futures forever."

J.G. — LPC, Practice Owner

"High conflict personalities and personality disorders are more dominant in the counseling field than most professionals are equipped to deal with. Being educated on the realities of these dynamics is central to remaining balanced and effective in court / divorce work."

T.P. — CEO, LPC, LPCC, C-PD

"This course has high utility value in that it conveys practical tactics to deal with High Conflict People. In the healthcare arena, addressing toxic behavior is imperative to ensure that vital communication that impacts patients is not compromised."

K.E. — RN, PhD · Healthcare Leader Coach

Ready to start?

Pick the New Ways program for your practice.

Every New Ways® program teaches the same 4 Big Skills™ — a proven method for turning high-conflict moments into productive ones. Whether you work with families navigating divorce, parties in mediation, teams at work, or teens finding their footing, you'll leave equipped to change outcomes for the people who count on you. Pick your program above or get in touch if you want help choosing.

Browse programs → Talk to us