1. ASTRACS
ASSESSMENT,
TRAINING, AND
COACHING SERVICES
Dr. Christine Leclerc-Sherling
International Psychologist
General Process .............................................................................................................................................2
Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Assessment (OPVA-A) ............................................................ 3
Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Training (OPVA-T) ..................................................................4
Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Coaching services (OPVA-CS)................................................ 5
What Level of Intervention Does your Organization Need?............................................................................6
Meet your Expert: .......................................................................................................................................... 7

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GENERAL PROCESS
A face-to-face meeting is first arranged to lay out the presenting problem. A series of emails and phone
calls follow to finalize a one-page contract with the mission, objectives, time, and cost of the intervention.
The next phase is an in-depth analysis of the organizational documents (strategic plans, visions, values,
objectives, publications, news releases, policies, rules and regulations, etc.) pertaining to the mission and to
the presenting problem of the organization. A brief review with the organization may be organized to clarify
certain relevant and essential points. When the unit of analysis is a group with a specific work sub-culture,
focus groups are organized to agree on a common definition of stressors, challenges, and defining
moments. Short individual interviews (20-45 minutes) follow. A series of focus groups conclude the data
collection phase and serve as debriefing with the groups. The data collection phase can be done face-to-face
or via GoToMeetings (online interface). The next phase consists of data analysis and modelling, where the
mission, the presenting problem, the documentations, and the data collection are aligned and organized as
to back up the recommendations. The last phase of the assessment (OPVA-A) is a condensed or detailed
report. Presentations to leadership, to unit of analysis, or to a specific audience may be arranged. New
contracts can be established at that time for training (OPVA-T) or coaching services (OPVA-C).
Presenting
Problem
Contract
Framework of Analysis
Review Unit of Analysis
Focus Group(s)
Interviews
Focus Group(s)
/Debriefing
Model
Assessment and
Recomendations
Presentation(s)
Training
and/or
Coaching

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE AND
VIOLENCE ATTITUDES
ASSESSMENT (OPVA-A)
Assumptions:
The challenge for any organizational endeavor is to reach a top-down, bottom-up, and middle-out
compliance. An organization is as firm as its mission statement and as vulnerable as its misalignment.
Organizations, groups, and individuals require different leadership strategies to converge towards
common goals. Too much tension can be as detrimental to the organizational objectives as can too much
complaisance. Finding the balance between organizational success and employees’ growth is the purpose of
an organizational peace and violence attitudes assessment.
Process:
The assessment is a three- to six-week assessment of organizations, departments, and/or teams (unit of
analysis). It provides a clear description of the individual and social resources deployed toward the
organizational mission. It assesses the unit of analysis’ unique sets of resistance to stressors, resilience to
crises, and posttraumatic growth after critical events. It looks for potential organizational trauma, defenses,
and side missions that are not the result from an individual’sbehaviors or isolated events, but that are
reactions to dysfunctions – they are normal reactions from abnormal environments and can create obstacles
in the completion of the organizational mission. The report ends with specific and tailored
recommendations for interventions.
Method:
Focus groups and short individual interviews. The strength of the method is in the combination of the
collective narrative collected through focus groups and the projective and nonjudgmental interview
protocol. The process is non-threatening and non-intrusive yet it allows an in-depth analysis of the
organizational dynamics. The assessment is centered on the organizational mission and it is only the
organization’s mission that gives value to the organizational behaviors, group thoughts, and collective
emotions. What is constructive in one organization may not be in another one and vice versa.

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE
AND VIOLENCE
ATTITUDES TRAINING
(OPVA-T)
Assumptions:
Based on the principle established during the assessment phase that it is the organizational mission that
gives value to organizational behaviors, group thoughts, and collective emotions, the training phase is based
on recognizing the strength and the limitations of those dynamics. It frames the organizational mission as
the starting point and as the expected outcome. It reorganizes emerging resistances, dysfunctions, and
possible episodes as they relate to the organizational mission and it provides to individuals a safe
environment to address their own attitudes and beliefs. Finally, the training creates a conducive and culture-
specific environment for growth for the employees while directly contributing to the organizational mission.
Process:
The organizational leaders and the outside expert decide on a design and a timeline that is realistic and
sensible. Different delivery styles are available: online, hybrid, and face-to-face. The training contract may
also include training material and handouts.
Method:
Large group presentations and small group sessions. The large group presentations aim at creating a
common definition of issues to be addressed and how they may be impacting the organizational mission.
The small group sessions allow reflections, problem-solving, and creative conflict resolution.

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE AND
VIOLENCE ATTITUDES
COACHING SERVICES
(OPVA-CS)
Assumptions:
Aligning organizational mission, group dynamics, and individual growth can sometimes create some
tensions. If mission and objectives are defined by the top strategic organizational level, it is only as powerful
and efficient as it is implemented by employees at all levels. Even if the momentum is created through top-
down communication, spread middle-out through departments, team, and task-forces, it is eventually up to
individuals to carry out the mission and report on any issues. If organizations, departments, and teams can
be considered as having their own identities, drive for sustainability, growth, and resistance to change, it is
eventually the employees who will display the symptoms of any organizational dysfunction. The coaching
services are therefore intended to address the tensions between employees, teams, departments, and
eventually the organization – as it relates to the mission and objectives of the organization.
Process:
Individual sessions, confidential and non-judgmental. The expert will separate personal symptoms from
organizational symptoms and refer individuals for personal symptoms to outside services, while addressing
the organizational symptoms. The service can be offered to the employees and be selected individually and
voluntarily; or can be strongly suggested to employees notably within the frame of positive discipline or as
an opportunity for growth.
Method:
Following the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct (2010), the sessions respect the five principles of: (A) Beneficence and Nonmaleficence, (B) Fidelity
and Responsibility, (C) Integrity, (D) Justice, and (E) Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. No personal
information will be shared outside the sessions unless the employee chooses to address issues through
mediation. The nation-specific psychological guidelines will be recognized as well. The expert declines all
responsibility in initiatives that individuals may take following sessions. If the coaching sessions address
tensions between individuals and the organizational mission and objectives, the sessions are not persuasive
and forceful. Employees will not be told what to do to resolve those tensions, but rather be provided a safe
and constructive environment to use personal creativity, initiative, and growth to resolve those identified
tensions.

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WHAT LEVEL OF
INTERVENTION DOES YOUR
ORGANIZATION NEED?
Very
true
Somewhat
true
Not
relevant
Somewhat
false
Very
false
The mission of my organization is clear:
The objectives for each employee, team, department, and
leaders are well communicated:
The objectives are met on time:
The objectives are met with quality:
The objectives motivate and challenge each employee.
Skilled and experienced employees are hired to complete
the mission of the organization.
Employees are sufficiently trained on how their individual
work contribute to the objectives and mission of the
organization.
Employees stay at their jobs.
Employees grow in knowledge and authority within the
company.
Total
If most of your answers are “very true” and “somewhat true,” your organization is well aligned. You may
want to ask those questions throughout your organization to confirm that it is the case at every level.
If most of your answers are “very false” and “somewhat false,” your needs may be beyond our scope. You
want to check with our expert for suggestions.
If you have more than one “not relevant” and if your answers are often on different spectrum of the
qualifiers, your organization could benefit from our assessment services. If you believe that you have already
identified the sources of the gaps, consider scheduling an appointment to discuss tailored training and/or
specific training.

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MEET YOUR EXPERT:
Americano-Franco-Swiss psychologist, I have spent the past four years (PhD) and over 10 years of
graduate work in psychology (MS), humanitarian assistance (MS) and communication (MA) aligning
macro and micro peace initiatives.
In my dissertation, I chose to study South African social workers providing diversion services to young
offenders because they were on the edge between peace and violence on every level. They were living
in a young democracy with a heavy heritage of segregation and discrimination. Their organization was
providing restorative services within a retributive justice system. Finally, their work involved therapeutic
interventions to foster forgiveness and civic duty in a population with a history of crime and trauma. In
studying the social workers’ positive peace attitudes and the possible health and social benefits of
those attitudes, two significant conclusions emerged: if peace and violence attitudes can be observed in
individuals, they are not indicative of the nature of the organizational outcome. The mission of the
organization creates a culture that, in turns, normalizes and encourages behaviors. Moreover, the most
powerful protective factor for the participants was vicarious posttraumatic growth. The social workers
found purpose and motivation in the fact that their work had a systemic impact that would eventually
contribute to making their community safer.
I am committed to putting your organization’s mission in the center of my work. I specifically gather,
organize, and report on data that are relevant to the mission of the organization. Success is measured by
objectives well aligned with the mission and effectively communicated with the employees. Moreover, it is
measured by the engagement and growth of employees.
Christine Leclerc-Sherling, PhD, MA, MS, MS
For contact: