Applying the opinion blocks framework in catastrophic conflict: a practice paper

Groups and teams that are involved in acute and/or prolonged conflict with each other create impermeable barriers between them that robustly resist change. This article uses the framework of “opinion blocks” to illustrate a means by which such conflict can worked with. Whilst the framework outlined is relatively recent, it has enabled the author to engage with situations of “catastrophic” conflict in a way that has resulted in surprising improvements in the effectiveness of collaboration between the involved parties. The opinion blocks framework was introduced in an earlier article in this journal (Ringer, 2017b) in which the etiology of “collective self-righteousness” was examined. The reader is advised to refer to this earlier article for a theoretical background to the opinion blocks framework. The article that follows uses a modified real-life example from the author’s consulting practice to illustrate the principles involved.