Michelle LeBaron

The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work of therapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual or small group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much wider impact, to inspire social action and bring about social change.The book's contributors explore the transformative power of the arts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, poverty or natural disaster and discuss how and why expressive arts works. They look at the ways it can be used to engage community consciousness and improve social conditions whilst taking into account the issues that arise within different contexts and populations. Leading expressive arts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of their work, from using poetry as a tool in trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors of war and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel.Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiring change at the community or social level, this is essential reading for students and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies, as well as psychotherapists, counsellors, artists and others working to effect social change.

For more than three decades, Northwest artist Nancy Worden has explored the cultural dynamics that shape contemporary social and political agendas, emphasizing the female experience in the United States. Working from her vast knowledge of jewelry's venerable traditions and forms, she demonstrates a high level of intellectual rigor and simultaneously cultivates a complex engagement with aesthetics and pleasure. Reflecting her passion and personal convictions, her jewelry is forceful, unapologetic, demanding, and gripping. Her jewelry is often humorous and sometimes painful, but her voice is never timid.Loud Bones is the first scholarly examination of Worden's career. Her work is held in private and museum collections in the United States and Europe.

For more than three decades, Northwest artist Nancy Worden has explored the cultural dynamics that shape contemporary social and political agendas, emphasizing the female experience in the United States. Working from her vast knowledge of jewelry's venerable traditions and forms, she demonstrates a high level of intellectual rigor and simultaneously cultivates a complex engagement with aesthetics and pleasure. Reflecting her passion and personal convictions, her jewelry is forceful, unapologetic, demanding, and gripping. Her jewelry is often humorous and sometimes painful, but her voice is never timid.Loud Bones is the first scholarly examination of Worden's career. Her work is held in private and museum collections in the United States and Europe.

Cultural differences among members of any group-be it a multinational business team or an international family-are frequently the source of misunderstanding and can lead to conflict. With powerful techniques for resolving or at least reducing conflicts, scholars and teachers from around the globe demystify the intricate and important relationship between conflict and culture. Stories, which are at the heart of the book, come from a wide variety of groups and locations, and they give sound counsel for all kinds of settings: business, law, government, non-governmental agencies, schools, communities and families. Conflict across Cultures is written by a new generation of conflict resolution scholars from four parts of the world: Canada, South Africa, Japan and the US. They describe processes and help build the skills necessary for successful conflict resolution. Here is a new framework for understanding others-a map for making progress through differences that can otherwise overwhelm us. Conflict across Cultures offers hope in countering the view that differences must divide us.

"This much needed book . . .is a creative, helpful, and hopeful contribution at a time when we are especially challenged to bridge cultures in the pursuit of mutual understanding and peace." — Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Laureate In our global society, challenging conflicts abound in personal, business, government, and international settings. Many of these conflicts are complicated by layers of miscommunication, cultural misunderstandings, and completely different ways of looking at the world. These conflicts cannot be solved by goodwill or sincere intentions alone. In our multicultural world, we need new tools to address gaps in communication and understanding and the conflicts that flow from them. Bridging Cultural Conflicts answers this need in groundbreaking ways that cut through complexity, replacing confusion with clarity. It introduces mindful awareness, cultural fluency, and conflict fluency as tools for decoding and moving through intercultural conflicts, and for deepening and integrating change. The book shows how fluency with culture and conflict can be learned through attention and practice, just as we would internalize a new language. As fluency is acquired, a process called dynamic engagement is presented to help prevent intercultural conflict, limit its escalation, and transform it into a learning experience. Michelle LeBaron's approach in Bridging Cultural Conflicts is human, practical, and adaptable to a wide range of interpersonal, community, organizational, and political conflicts. Drawing from her work as an attorney, mediator, scholar, and internationally acclaimed consultant, Michelle combines the dynamism of Western approaches to conflict resolution with the insight and balance of Eastern approaches. In the process, she offers a wide array of creative strategies and usable tools. As we urgently seek better ways to work and live together and to address the issues that divide us, this timely book inspires flexibility, creativity, and hope.