IAP2 Working with Conflict and High Emotion - Hosted by Cassie Hemphill

IAP2's Working with Conflict and High Emotion

**You must first complete Fundamentals of Public Participation or IAP2's previous Foundations Training to take this course**

Assess the state of conflict and emotion in your public participation and engagement processes, and create productive and constructive approaches to address them.

Please note: Because this course builds on the core principles and frameworks introduced in Fundamentals of Public Participation and Engagement, completion of that course is required.

Price: $650

IAP2 Members: $550 (contact us for the member discount code)

Dates:

• July 22-23 & 29-30, 2026

Class Hours

All classes meet online from 12:00-2:00 pm ET and 3:00-5:00 pm ET, with a 1-hour break between sessions each day.

By the end of Working with Conflict and High Emotion, you will be ready to travel on a journey that improves mutual understanding, changes relationships and systems to meet human needs, contributes to building peace and creates lasting change.

The focus of this Level 3 course is on de-escalating and shifting conflict and high emotion to constructive participation, where forward momentum and resolution are possible. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the state of conflict, and work with practical, tangible approaches to deescalate and transform challenges. Over the course, we will cover tools, strategies and ways of working to resolve polarized and emotional challenges.

Course objectives

• Assess the state of conflict and emotion in the P2/engagement process, and create productive and constructive approaches
• Work with the stages of conflict escalation and apply the concepts of de-escalation
• Apply a variety of strategies to transform the conflict in P2/engagement
• Identify the impact of high emotion and apply a range of approaches to deescalate challenges
• Identify how to reduce conflict in situations of misinformation and duelling facts
• Apply the principles of storytelling to connect people to each other, increase understanding and reduce conflict
• Learn from mistakes and understand the role of failure in P2/engagement processes
• Identify and apply how to model integrity and behaviors that deescalate conflict
• Apply the strategies and tools to your own project or situation

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This is an IAP2 core training course delivered externally by an IAP2 licensed trainer. MUST REGISTER ON TRAINERS WEBSITE!

Click Here to Register on trainers website! 

Trainer: Cassie Hemphill 

Cassie Hemphill has more than 25 years of experience in designing and leading public participation and engagement processes and projects. Her work has included environmental and natural resource management, healthcare delivery, education, and community-based human services. She has been creating and delivering remote and in-person training experiences for professionals and community members for more than 15 years. 

Cassie has been involved with IAP2 since 2003. She helped create IAP2 USA’s Professional Certification program, assisted with updates and development of IAP2’s course materials, and has served on the USA and Intermountain Chapter boards. She currently serves as an IAP2 Licensing Programme Mentor, preparing candidates from around the world to become IAP2 Licensed Trainers.

Cassie’s Ph.D. research explored public/private collaboration in environmental management. Her M.A. research analyzed decision-makers' openness to public input. She has a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution and is an IAP2 USA Certified Public Participation Practitioner (CP3), a Certified Mediator (CM), and a Certified Virtual Facilitator (CVF).