Author Archives: swpollack

About swpollack

I’m an independent mediator and collaborative communication coach who can help you to co-create greater ease, connection and mutual understanding in your personal and professional relationships. As a non-traditional specialist, my aim is to get concrete results for my clients in a fraction of the time usually required by traditional therapy and counseling. Please visit my business website: www.mediation-usa.net . The emotion-based coaching work I do is deeply therapeutic, yet I am neither a psychologist nor a psychotherapist. Instead I work with a holistic, empathic process called compassionate, nonviolent communication. I also facilitate ongoing support groups for people who want to learn this organic process of nonjudgmental communication to help build bridges of connection, harmony, collaboration and understanding. For more about my Build Compassionate Relationships meetup group, visit: www.nvccoachmiami.com . I’ve been offering these services to the public since 2000 in the greater Miami and Fort Lauderdale area, as well as by phone and through Skype conferencing. . Nonviolent Communication is a process developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. It’s based on a very pure, nonjudgmental language of feelings, needs and requests. I’ve found this to be a powerful tool in my mediation work which involves bringing two or more people together despite a painful history of conflict.

NVC Won’t Work on Grown Children

At a recent gathering of my NVC practice/support group, the subject of grown children came up. Trying to get them to call more often seems to be a sort of lost cause. I often hear people say that if you … Continue reading

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Beating Yourself Up for Mistakes is “Emotional Lupus”

So, you forgot a major dentist or doctor appointment which triggered an annoying penalty/fine and on top of that, you had to wait months to get another appointment. You could beat yourself up over it… Your inner jackals (judgmental thoughts) … Continue reading

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A Triumph of Nonviolent Communication in Action

Being the Change I Want to See Maybe you’ve heard some version of the old story about a man who came to Buddha and yelled and screamed at him, judging him up and down. Buddha just observed the man and … Continue reading

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Judgments: What You Judge, You Become

I‘ve heard an old saying, “What you judge, you become.” I’ve elaborated on this with my own twist. “What you judge harshly in others, you may eventually become; what you judge compassionately in yourself through value judgments, you may eventually … Continue reading

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Jackal Finger-Pointing: 1 Finger Outward, 3 Inward

One Jackal Finger to Three Giraffe Fingers Much of the time we all find ourselves living in judgmental, “jackal” consciousness. That is, we point the one finger outward at other people as we judge and criticize how stupid they are. … Continue reading

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Tossing Out the Community Rules, Nonviolently

(Note: NVC is an abbreviation for Nonviolent Communication, a fluid, ever-evolving language process created by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. It is also sometimes referred to as Compassionate Communication, and is based on universal human feelings and needs, the giving of empathy … Continue reading

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Heart Connection: Will You Dig Deep to Find the Empathy you Want?

Heart Connection is one of the main goals in NVC (Nonviolent Communication). Recently in my NVC support/practice group, a participant commented on how many words it took to get to the heart of an issue and to resolve it. It … Continue reading

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The Definition of “Right” and “Wrong”

I love the Neale Donald Walsh quote about the loaded meaning of two words, right and wrong. He wrote: “The idea that you call ‘right’ is the idea someone else calls ‘wrong.’ The solution that you call ‘perfect’ is the … Continue reading

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The Challenge to Avoid NVC Dogma

Through the NVC Academy, Robert Gonzales recorded a free webcast as part of a series entitled Practical Pathways. Robert holds a Ph.D., and is a CNVC Certified Trainer, widely respected in the global NVC community. Listening to this webcast I … Continue reading

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Make Your NVC Conversations Sound Truly Natural

Recently a client gave me quite a challenge. He wanted me to help him find the NVC way to express himself to a family member where there has been a thick wall of conflict and resentment for years. He insisted, … Continue reading

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