TESTIMONIALS
See what people we’ve helped have to say
When families face conflicts regarding their elders’ care or finances, we provide mediation services to help them find common ground. For those unsure how to plan for their loved ones’ future, our professional facilitation ensures productive family meetings. When relatives are unwilling to come together and talk, our conflict coaching helps family caregivers learn to navigate difficult conversations.
Click the tabs below to read inspiring family caregiver testimonials from those who have benefited from our conflict resolution services.
WHAT OUR CONFLICT COACHING
CLIENTS SAY
Mike W., Pinole, CA
I took Katharina’s Conflict Coaching after some family members decided not to attend family mediation. Why? I am, in part, responsible for the breakdown in communications and I felt compelled to make some positive changes.
At the core of Katharina’s coaching is a vocabulary and methodology that is used to better understand the family situation I find myself in. This includes ways to listen to yourself and others, and new ways to better express yourself.
This coaching is a means to a more empathic and compassionate family dialogue. With practice I am hoping to make some long-lasting changes in myself and hopefully bring my family back together.
Sheila M., San Francisco, CA:
I’ve taken some Compassionate Communication coaching sessions with Katharina Dress and found them very helpful. Katharina is empathic, and experienced in the field of family matters, friends’ matters, and what matters to us all: Harmony.
Tanya H., San Francisco, CA:
Katharina could not be more kind, caring and knowledgeable. Over the course of some Conflict Coaching consultations, her wisdom helped me navigate one of the toughest family challenges I have faced, and in the healthiest way. Often people presume that someone my age is unable to have good discernment, which is a mistake (I am 89). I appreciated so much that Ms. Dress dealt with me as a wise individual and not a “senior”. I recommend her highly.
Jeanette, Los Angeles, CA:
I was referred to Katharina from a dear friend during a very stressful and emotional time in my family dynamics. Navigating all the complexities of an aging/ sick parent coupled with a controlling and unreasonable step parent was overwhelming to say the least. Katharina was a grounding force, a breath of fresh air in a newly destabilizing terrain. I came to her in a whirlwind of distress and fear, and left with the feeling of her calming hand on my shoulder as I moved forward with some very difficult decisions.
I would recommend Katharina to anyone who is in need of mediation, conflict resolution or education on working with older adults and their families. She is compassionate, kind, and masterful in navigating the nuanced complexity that comes unique to each family’s situation. She was a teacher to me on how to show up better, not only for others but for myself.
Lauren M., Oakland, CA:
My inner conflict mediation session with Katharina was extremely helpful in gaining greater clarity in regards to a challenging and confusing situation in my life.
I was impressed by, and very grateful for, her skill in holding a supportive space for me to explore difficult emotional territory. Her ability to truly listen, be present, and reflect back what she was hearing with clarity and neutrality was invaluable in helping me gain greater understanding. I especially appreciated the end of the process when Katharina helped me create very tangible and specific agreements and actions that I could commit to that would allow me to apply my newfound realizations.
I would highly recommend her and this process to anyone needing support in moving through inner conflict.
Terry M., San Martin, CA:
I’ve learned so much from my sessions with Katharina Dress as my Conflict Coach — glad our caregiver agency referred me to her at Aging in Harmony. My father now has dementia and with these new skills I’ve acquired, interacting with him has become calmer, and conflicts are resolved more effectively. Click here to read more on YELP.
Harmony S., San Leandro, CA:
I took a series of Conflict Coaching classes with Katharina Dress. TAKE THESE CLASSES!! She is incredible. Katharina teaches you a structure for how to engage in a difficult conversations. It involves listening, identify “universal human needs” (there’s a big list of them – you’ll get a hand out to help you), and speaking with the person in a very particular way to help the two of you arrive at productive outcomes. Click here to read more on YELP.
Suzanne S., San Francisco, CA
Katharina taught me valuable lessons in how to communicate more effectively, how to listen more actively, and how even how to meditate! I have taken her lessons to heart and they have helped me improve communications in both my personal and professional lives. I would highly recommend her services – the world would be in a better place if more people utilized this approach to communicating.
D. Spenard, Santa Rosa, CA:
Katharina’s conflict coaching helped me to communicate with family in a challenging circumstance with more care for everyone involved. She is very clear in communicating what she can offer and the terms. In my experience she has a great deal of integrity and has a deep understanding of Non-Violent-Communication principles (a.k.a. Compassionate or Empathic Communication).
Nancy J, Berkeley, CA:
Katharina was very helpful working with me to open communication with my son regarding some property and personal issues. Her approach is practical and she gets to the heart of the matter quickly. I learned how I tend to skip over the feeling statements and go right to the action plan. I will continue to practice the skills that I learned and hope to use them in all areas of my life.
James Levinson, Danville, CA:
I found Katharina through a mediation website, when I was looking for help with a difficult ex-spouse & my estranged children. I ended up getting help/coaching on nonviolent communication methods. Working with me one-on-one via zoom, Katharina helped me learn to communicate my feelings and needs in a more organized, proficient & understandable manner. I now use these methods with my children and progress is being made! It’s a journey and I am pleased to have added these new skills to my repertoire.
A Family Caregiver:
Conflict Coaching sessions with Katharina Dress gave me invaluable help in preparing to face some challenging family issues. Her creative guidance through role playing elicited insight on repressed feelings and unrealized goals that constituted essential preparation for difficult family negotiations. Katharina is an important asset in helping to resolve family conflicts.
Grace Alexander, Family Caregiver:
Katharina’s conflict coaching skills have helped me determine the why, what, when and where to choose having my voice and needs heard. During a series of sessions with her I have learned to channel my energies where I need to focus most.
Thea Farhadian, MFA:
Katharina is genuinely empathic and skilled at seeing both sides of a situation and honoring individual differences. She has an amazing ability to go quickly to the heart and bottom layer of an issue, and to reflect with both clarity and kindness. I recommend her highly as a conflict coach.
Trudy F, Richmond, CA:
Katharina led me through several dynamic conflict coaching sessions based on Nonviolent Communication (NVC). I appreciated the format of using my life experiences to practice NVC techniques of empathy, observation, defining feelings and needs, and making requests. Katharina was very effective at modelling these techniques so I had a better understanding of them. She gave me an excellent foundation for continuing to learn and practice NVC in challenging situations in my life.
David H, Napa, CA:
In many ways, I feel as though I have made remarkable progress in “coming back” after the turmoil and shock of an unexpected divorce and the break-up of my family. I was stuck in a context of blame, hurt and victimization. Katharina Dress has played a significant part in what some people have termed “a remarkable recovery”. She led me though a process she calls “Forgiveness Coaching” that has enabled me to move on in life by removing the barriers that I had created for myself in wanting to blame and be the victim. She has shown me a path to obtain the freedom I must experience to once again become that complete and giving human being I believe myself to be.
