About

The mission of Preferred Path Conflict Resolution (PPCR) is to help Christians “glorify God and enjoy him forever”, even when they disagree.

In family life, at work, in school, in church life, and with neighbors, PPCR provides tools, training, and support to for Christian communities to develop local “Preferred Path Ministries” as a part of Christian discipleship.

PPCR is a division of Blue Lion Conflict Solutions, LLC, a privately held company owned by Karl A. Slaikeu, Ph.D., and Diane W. Slaikeu, J.D.

Information and tools on this website are grounded in their collective experience over several decades in customizing negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution tools for use in business, faith-based, governmental, and international settings.

All PPCR tools, training, and support are based on principles found in Scripture, integrated with communication, negotiation, and mediation tools from the behavioral sciences.

For Karl’s and Diane’s biographical information, click here.

The tools and guidance on this website are designed for use in Christian communities. To access comparable tools for use in other settings, see www.bluelionconflictsolutions.com.

Karl A. Slaikeu, Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychologist, mediator and author, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (B.A), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the State University of New York at Buffalo (M.A., Ph.D.). The author numerous books and professional articles, Karl has over three decades’ experience in mediating family, organizational and faith-based disputes.

His model for psychological first aid has been translated into thirty-two languages for use by the American Red Cross to help earthquake and tsunami survivors in Central America and Asia.

In 2009-10 Karl served as a Sr. Social Scientist with the US Army in Afghanistan, where he interviewed villagers and helped Coalition Forces adjust stability operations to address needs of the local population.

Formerly he held a tenured faculty position in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina and taught in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

He currently teaches Negotiation and Dispute Resolution in three master’s degree programs in the Naveen Jindal School of Management of the University of Texas at Dallas, and serves as Workplace Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Central Texas Health Care System (CTVHCS) (Temple, TX).

Diane W. Slaikeu, J.D., an attorney, mediator, and educator, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (B.S.), and the University of Texas School of Law (J.D.).

Her professional experience includes legal work in the Texas and South Carolina state legislatures, and partnership in a civil litigation law firm, followed by independent practice devoted exclusively to negotiation and mediation.

Diane has extensive experience as a trainer in communication and mediation skills for managers and in-house dispute resolution specialists. A member of the State Bar of Texas and the South Carolina Bar Association, she has served as adjunct faculty at Abilene Christian University, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Pepperdine University School of Law.

Books

For a review of the behavioral science principles and cases studies on which the Preferred Path concept is based, see the following:

Slaikeu, K.A. Crisis Intervention: A Handbook for Practice and Research. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1984, 1990. Find it at Amazon.com

Slaikeu, K.A. When Push Comes to Shove: A Practical Guide to Mediating Disputes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1996. Find it at Amazon.com

Slaikeu, K.A., and Hasson, R.H. Controlling the Costs of Conflict: How to Design a System for Your Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1998. Find it at Amazon.com

TOOLS

TRAINING

SUPPORT

Integration into Church and Family Life