When conflict stalls your work, something hasn’t been fully seen.
Conflict Transformation Facilitation for Purpose-Driven Organizations & Community Groups
Most conflicts don’t stay stuck because they’re too hard to resolve.
They stay stuck because key dynamics are hidden just beneath the surface — and typical approaches never reach them.
I’m Katherine Golub (she/her), a conflict transformation facilitator. As a long-time community organizer, city councilor, and business owner, I know how frustrating it can be when conflict stymies our efforts toward change. When challenging people dynamics linger too long without the right skills or support, we can burn out — and work we care deeply about can grind to a halt.
For over fifteen years, I’ve coached individuals through conflict. Now I bring that depth of experience to teams, organizations, and community groups ready to get unstuck and build the conditions for effective, lasting collective work.
Why typical approaches don’t work
When we’re in conflict, most people do the same unhelpful things: we get stuck in our own heads, blame others, judge ourselves, vent to third parties instead of talking directly to the people we’re struggling with. These approaches don’t resolve anything — they deepen the stuck.
What actually unlocks conflict is acknowledgment.
Every conflict has dynamics above the surface — what people are saying and doing — and dynamics below it:
- Needs and longings that haven’t been named
- Hidden loyalties and contracts shaping how people show up
- Historical and systemic patterns nobody’s talking about
Each of these can keep a group frozen. Each, when acknowledged, can set us free.
How I Work
My conflict transformation approach follows an iterative arc I call EASIER.
One: Engage — We start with a free discovery session. If it’s a good fit, we define the scope and create a working agreement.
Two: Assess — I get to know each person’s perspective through surveys, one-on-one interviews, and meeting observations. No one gets to set the frame for everyone else.
Three: Acknowledge — I guide the group to surface what’s actually happening — including what’s been unspeakable. Depending on what the assessment reveals, this phase may include mediation, systemic constellations work, or both.
Mediation helps people clear the air with care and curiosity, rebuild positive regard, and find enough shared understanding to move forward together.
Systemic constellations make visible the hidden forces — loyalties, legacies, unspoken contracts — that keep groups stuck in repeating patterns. This approach is especially powerful when you’ve tried everything else and everyday logic keeps falling short.
Four: Structure — Some groups feel complete after Acknowledge. Others want support designing the conditions for better collaboration going forward: clarity about purpose, roles, decision-making, norms, and power. About 60% of a team’s effectiveness comes down to its design.
Five: Integrate — I join regular team meetings to coach in real time. This is where new skills stop being theory and start becoming habit.
Six: Embody — Change that lasts has to be lived, not just understood. This phase is about helping teams internalize new ways of working so the shifts stick long after our engagement ends.
Seven: Review — Throughout, we pause to celebrate progress, recalibrate goals, and re-engage with fresh energy.
What becomes possible
When conflict transforms rather than just settles, teams can:
- Speak hard truths in ways others can actually hear
- Make decisions everyone can commit to — and stay committed to
- Clarify each person’s role and contributions within the system
- Release long-standing inertia, ambivalence, or resistance to change
- Untangle intractable conflicts and find a path to lasting resolution
- Improve retention, initiative, and collective leadership capacity
- Prevent burnout and recover lost time and energy
- Align around — and achieve — common purposes, values, and goals
- Build lasting camaraderie across real differences
- Adapt to complexity without fracturing
Frequently Asked Questions About Conflict Transformation
What do you charge?
$150–$375/hour on a sliding scale, based on your organization’s budget and scope of work.
How long does the work take?
It depends on your team’s needs and resources. We define the scope together before beginning.
Where do you work with clients?
Mostly online. I can travel for in-person work in the Northeast. I bill for travel beyond 25 miles of Greenfield, Massachusetts.
What actually happens in a constellations session?
We build a living, spatial map of your relational system — using drawings, objects, or people as representatives — to make visible what’s otherwise hard to see. From there, we explore what’s frozen, look for ways to restore coherence, and discover new possibilities for how people relate and move forward.
Where did systemic constellations come from?
The method was developed by Bert Hellinger, whose thinking was shaped by time spent with the Zulu people in South Africa. While less common in the U.S., constellations are a well-established modality across Europe and Latin America. My practice integrates constellations in ways that are trauma-informed and values-aligned.
How have you worked to decolonize your practice?
This is ongoing work. My 25+ years as a community organizer have shaped how I think about power, whose knowledge gets centered, and who gets to define what “resolution” looks like. I draw on ongoing training in decolonial practices and trauma-informed methodologies, and I integrate more expansive understandings of gender, systemic power, and perpetrators’ responsibilities for repair into my work.
You can learn more about my background and training on my about page, and read about my commitment to creating supportive spaces for all at the bottom of my approach page.
Why don't you recommend jumping right into a group constellation?
While I do offer one-time constellations sessions for individuals — and often weave constellations into initial one-on-one assessment conversations — group work requires more careful preparation, for three reasons.
First: Focus. Constellations can explore many different dynamics, but only so much can be examined in a single session. Starting with an assessment helps us identify which dynamics are most likely driving the conflict, so we can zero in on what matters most rather than casting too wide a net.
Second: Care. A constellation can surface dynamics that feel vulnerable to look at. Before bringing a group into that space, I want to understand the power dynamics at play and what’s at stake for each person involved.
Finally: Necessity. I weave many methodologies into my conflict work, and a constellation isn’t always what’s needed. Often, creating a safe-enough, well-held space for people to air their feelings and interpretations is enough to transform a conflict on its own.
What if I want ongoing or individual support?
If ongoing coaching — for accountability, skill-building, or thought partnership — might serve you, I offer small cohort coaching, leadership coaching, and career clarity coaching. If it seems relevant, I’ll mention it during our discovery session.
How do you stay neutral?
I don’t aim for neutrality — I aim for multipartiality. That means I work to understand each person’s needs deeply enough to help find solutions that genuinely work for everyone: the individuals, the group, and the broader mission. When everyone feels that level of care, it becomes much easier to see what’s keeping the group stuck.
Let’s Talk
If your team is stuck and you’re ready to do something about it, I’d love to connect.
During our free, one-hour discovery session, I’ll ask questions to understand what’s going on. Based on what I learn, I’ll suggest a path forward — whether that’s conflict transformation facilitation or something else. Either way, you’ll leave with more clarity than you came with.
