National Conflict Resolution Center: Restorative Practices

I attended a 2-day Restorative Practice training at the National Conflict Resolution Center in South East San Diego-- the community I grew up in. Reginald Washington, the CEO of Project Aware led the training alongside his support staff at the center. Other parties involved were the County of Probation-- correctional and probation officers from throughout San Diego County as well as community mentors with lived-experiences. Both parties were in the process of implementing Restorative Practices in the work they do with opportunity youth and other community members.

I chose this particular growth opportunity because after being introduced to Restorative Practices in our program, I began to see it being implemented on-site within the Sweetwater Union High School District. I participated in a restorative circle that took place in a classroom at Palomar High School where I was a substitute teacher. After participating in this circle and seeing how positive the students responded to it, it sparked an interest in me to gain more knowledge and skills on how I can implement this practice with my students and their families.

This experience provided hands-on opportunities for participants to practice allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and utilizing a circle to facilitate deep conversations about our hardships, experiences and what meaning that created for our own lives.

Social Discipline Window

The social discipline window provides a framework for understanding the spectrum of control and support and what impact they have on our own lived experiences. The restorative approach incorporates high levels of control which includes setting boundaries and setting high expectations while also providing high levels of support and encouragement. 

Restorative practices can be used at all age, gender, grade levels and can be used to facilitate conversations about a wide range of issues from conflict mediation to processing and create meaning to some of our most challenging experiences. As a school counselor, this practice can be implemented to solve conflict between students, families and staff and can also structure how we run small groups or core curriculum lessons. Not only can Restorative Practices be implemented in the school setting but it can also be utilized in prisons, juvenile hall and other counseling settings as a therapeutic process to healing. This practice aligns with Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory as it takes into account the macro, mezzo and micro factors that may be impacting a student, family or community. Restorative Practices utilizes a strength-based framework and a holistic lens which can help foster positive relationships when working with participants.

I plan on utilizing this practice as a school counselor with students and families within the school setting. Restorative practices can be implemented with narrative counseling strategies as we provide the space for students and families to share their stories in ways that are meaningful to them. I also hope to incorporate this practice into the way I facilitate small groups and core curriculum lessons. This practice can also be implemented into the ways in which we live our daily lives. I believe the most important part of our role as a school counselor is building strong and positive relationships with staff, students, families and community members. Through relationship building, restorative practices and narrative therapeutic processes, we can restore and heal relationships with our students, their families and even within our own lives.

Katherine Phillips

San Diego State University