Bill Eddy
LSW, Esquire. Co-founder & Director of the Institute for High Conflict
Bill Eddy pioneered the High Conflict Personality Theory (HCP) and has become an expert on managing disputes involving people with high conflict personalities, especially bullies. He was a licensed clinical social worker therapist working with children and families for over 12 years, then a Certified Family Law Specialist lawyer representing clients in family court for 15 years, and the Senior Family Mediator at the National Conflict Resolution Centre for 15 years.
Bill served on the faculty of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law in California for sixteen years and was a Conjoint Associate Professor with the University of Newcastle Law School in Australia for seven years. He has been a speaker and trainer in over 40 U.S. states and 13 countries. He is the author or co-author of over 20 books, manuals, and workbooks, and his work is featured on HCI’s ConflictInfluencer.com, a website for education and support for divorcing parents and co-parents. He is the co-host of the podcast It's All Your Fault, which he co-hosts with Megan Hunter, MBA, and has a popular blog on the Psychology Today website.
Day 1 - Bill Eddy | Plenary
Refusal, Resistance and the Child’s Brain: How New Ways for Families® Helps in High-Conflict Situations
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, judges, CAFCASS professionals, therapists, social workers
What this session is about
When a child resists or refuses contact, professionals can become pulled into blame narratives about whether the rejected parent caused the breakdown through abusive behaviours or the favoured parent caused it through alienating behaviours.
Bill examines a range of potential causes, focusing on how emotional stress affects the child’s brain development and capacity to cope. Drawing on neuroscience, he shows how structuring both parents to learn four core self management skills through his New Ways for Families® method can reduce conflict, even when protections are necessary, and ease pressure on the child.
Key themes
Child resistance as a stress response, not conscious defiance
Loyalty conflict, fear and emotional overload
Why some traditional responses escalate resistance
Shifting parents from adversarial patterns to learning four core self-management skills
A practical, child centred framework for stabilising the system around the child
What delegates will gain
Clear language for explaining resistance in non-blaming ways
A child centred lens to guide decisions and conversations
Practical insight into how reducing adult conflict reduces child pressure
A foundation for later sessions on participation, NVR and system response
How it connects to other sessions
This session sets the emotional and conceptual tone for Day One. It links directly to Megan Hunter’s Conflict Brain by grounding behaviour in neurobiology, prepares delegates for Professor Ben Hine’s psychology beneath behaviour and provides a child safety anchor for Professor Anne Barlow and Dr Jan Ewing’s participation work and Penny Ruth Willis’s NVR approach on Day Two.
Day 2 - Bill Eddy | Plenary
New Ways for Mediation: A Method for Handling High-Conflict Mediation
Who it will interest
Mediators, family lawyers, judges, CAFCASS professionals, ADR practitioners, legal academics
What this session is about
High conflict cases place extraordinary strain on mediation processes that rely on insight, openness and mutual problem solving. In this plenary, Bill introduces the New Ways® for Mediation model, a structured, skills-based approach designed specifically for high conflict personalities and dynamics.
Rather than seeking emotional insight or relational repair, the model focuses on containment and forward looking problem solving. Bill explores why mediation often fails in high conflict cases and what mediators can do differently to keep cases moving without escalating hostility or absorbing conflict.
Key themes
Why traditional mediation models break down in high conflict cases
High-conflict dynamics and personality patterns
Skills-based mediation versus insight-based approaches
Containment, structure and neutrality
Reducing re-litigation and professional burnout
What delegates will gain
A clear framework for mediating high conflict cases
Practical strategies for managing hostility and blame
Tools to maintain neutrality and professional boundaries
Greater confidence working with entrenched dynamics
A mediation model aligned with child protection and sustainability
How it connects to other sessions
Builds directly on Day One’s neuroscience and psychological framing from Bill Eddy, Megan Hunter and Professor Ben Hine. Provides the professional practice bridge into later sessions on communication skills, child participation and adult responsibility.