8Enhance your understanding of family dynamics! This impactful book will help you understand how we manage conflicts within our own families, and serves as a reminder that everyone has their own way of handling difficult situations. Whether you are a student using this book resource or someone who has faced a fair amount of conflict in life, this book will be a valuable guide to help you and your loved ones manage disputes and achieve resolutions!

Family. The very word means different things to different people. For some it is a reminder of a warm and nurturing environment they long to return to; for others it is a reminder of a tumultuous and contentious environment they ran from as soon as it became possible.

Addressing and reconciling conflict within families is challenging. There is never a single solution. Those seeking to assist families in crisis, be it friends, clinicians, mediators, etc., must have a wide and varied selection of skills and tools at their disposal. The chapters in this book contain a treasure trove of these tips and tools presented as keys. As the authors discuss these keys, they occasionally elaborate on a specific clinician, researcher, or author who has influenced their work. However, the foundation for these keys is their personal and professional experiences.

The authors hope and pray that this book will not only educate and equip readers to handle conflict more effectively, but also teach that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. When conflict is viewed as an opportunity to grow, learn, heal, and get to know one another more intimately, it can free a family from the destruction that conflict can potentially bring. Conflict is normal. As long as we have breath, we will have conflict. Let's learn to do this better.