Canadian Center For Applied Insight Conflict Resolution

I travelled to northern BC this week to work with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George staff for our 1-Day Engaging Conflict in the Moment course.

At the beginning of the day, one participant shared that when conversations get tense or uncomfortable, they freeze. They lose the ability to speak, form words, or know what to say next- I hear this often and it makes sense!

That freeze response isn’t a personal failure. It’s a natural stress response of the brain and body, and it’s what this course helps with.

Conflict training isn’t just for people who lash out, interrupt, or become visibly frustrated. It’s also for the people who shut down, go quiet, and want to disappear when discomfort shows up.

Participants learn practical tools and a simple framework to get their critical thinking back online and respond with more confidence in the moment.

Conflict skills aren’t just about saying the right thing. They’re also about helping your brain and body find the words again.

I'm really excited to share that I’m officially an accredited partner of PLAY-DOH Power Solutions- and the first in British Columbia approved to offer this course!

This means I’ll be adding a new course to my offerings: Team Cohesion, designed for teams and leaders who want to gain deeper insight into themselves and each other through the creative use of Play-Doh.

What I love about this approach is that it moves beyond traditional conversation-based learning. By engaging different senses and parts of the brain, Play-Doh can help reveal thoughts, patterns, strengths, and perspectives that don’t always come through when we rely only on words.

More information to come soon, but I’m thrilled to bring this playful, practical, and surprisingly insightful approach to teams in BC.

Feel free to send me a message if you’d like to learn more. 📨

I’m excited to officially welcome Sabina Smith as an Accredited Partner with Starfish Synergies and PLAY-DOH POWER SOLUTIONS corporate training. 💜

Sabina brings an exceptional combination of experience in conflict analysis, law enforcement, adjudication, and public sector leadership to this work.

As Principal Facilitator with the Canadian Center for Applied Insight Conflict Resolution in Kamloops, British Columbia, she helps individuals and organizations better understand and navigate conflict through conscious and targeted curiosity, an approach that is both practical and deeply impactful.

What immediately stood out to me about Sabina was her ability to connect complex ideas to real human experiences in a way that is engaging, grounded, and memorable. Her background includes:
• a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Management
• extensive experience in law enforcement and the public sector
• adjudication of complex mental health claims
• appointment as a BC Bylaw Adjudicator through the Ministry of Attorney General

And beyond all of that, she is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor, instructor, and referee who is passionate about empowering women through martial arts.

What a powerhouse!

I am incredibly excited to see the impact Sabina will have as she brings experiential learning, communication, and conflict resolution work to organizations across Canada and beyond.

Congratulations Sabina! I can’t wait to see what comes next!⭐

Loved working with the Vernon Teachers' Association before the long weekend. We talked conflict and how to use curiosity to keep the pre-frontal cortex engaged when things get spicy in their world!

Last week I facilitated our 2-day immersive conflict communication course for Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc. We had a mix of staff in the room from archaeology, public works, the museum, administration, and HR. It was also my first time facilitating the full 2-day course on my own- I was nervous! It felt like a big mountain to climb.

The first day focused on self- what happens in our bodies during conflict, how we regulate our own activations, and how we can communicate what we need or what matters to us as significance rather than judgment. Day 2 moved into strategic curiosity: once we have some grounding in ourselves, how do we respond to someone else’s challenging behaviour in a way that helps us and them understand what is really driving it?

At lunch on the second day, one participant approached me and said, “This has been a really good course.” and my automatic response was to say, “Yea, the content is great!” but she stopped me mid-sentence and said with a serious face, “No. It’s YOU. You make the space somewhere I feel okay to learn and be vulnerable.”

Bahh. Don’t make me cry. I needed to hear that. I'd been carrying some doubt about facilitating solo, but more than that, it meant so much because that's the kind of space I work really hard to create. The content matters. The skills matter. The theory matters. But none of it lands if people don’t feel safe enough to reflect honestly, try something new, and be vulnerable- especially considering how much practice we do in our courses.

I learned something else on the morning of Day 2. One participant greeted me with,“Tscwinúcw,” (Shwee-nook) the Secwepemctsín word meaning, “glad you made it through the night.” 🌄

Back in the classroom last Monday with the Kamloops Thompson Teachers' Association for District Day. I love doing this work locally -it really fosters that sense of community in me.

This group was especially into the brain science.

Quick takeaway: under perceived threat, more activity shifts to emotional centres (amygdala) and less to the prefrontal cortex where our best thinking happens.

Part of my work that I don't share much about.⏬️

Last week I spoke at the Local Government Compliance and Enforcement Association of BC's conference on the topic of Bylaw Adjudication.

It's kind of a cool position to be in. I spent years in the field as a Bylaw Officer, and now I'm sitting on the other side as an adjudicator.

In the systems I enter, I find myself constantly thinking critically about the way things are, whether it needs to be that way, and are they human centered? I brought some of my thoughts to this presentation:

1. Do we need hearing rooms setup like courtrooms? Probably not. What happens when we sit across from eachother at a table instead of creating that immediate divide?

2. Making evidence presented intentional based on the narrow jurisdiction of the Adjudicator.

3. Looking at how we communicate with people in the field and screening office. Stepping away from, "You can dispute the ticket" as one of the openers when we're approached.

I'm looking forward to doing more of this work with LGCEA and continuing to build education around Bylaw adjudication. It's something I care a lot about getting right.

I delivered our Building Trust and Achieving Compliance course for Bylaw officers this week at the Local Government Compliance and Enforcement Association of BC 's annual conference on Vancouver Island.

Consistently one of my favourite groups to work with.
We had a lot of honest conversations about what actually works in moments of escalation.

Spoiler: It's not explaining more. It's getting curious first.

Last week in Langley City working with a construction crew on communication in high-pressure, public-facing moments. It turns out, disruptions to someone’s morning commute can lead to challenging interactions!

This group showed up reflective, and willing to debrief real scenarios, while bringing humour into the skills practice.

We also focused on noticing our own response when someone comes in hot. That moment you feel a shift in yourself, name it, then get curious: what story am I telling myself about this change? That small step creates space to respond thoughtfully and keep interactions productive for everyone involved.

Appreciate the crew for their professionalism and willingness to engage in the work!

I spoke at the YWCA Newcomers Forum on Saturday at Robson Square in Vancouver

We got into conflict communication, rapport building, and a few practical things to do when feeling nervous going into a situation. One I still use myself, if it's a phone call im anxious about and I can stand, I do. It shifts how you come across more than you'd think.

It was an intimate group but the discussion was rich and thoughtful.✨️

Last week we facilitated our 1-day conflict communication course with the Building and Planning teams at the Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) .

In roles that involve regulation, decision-making, and frequent interaction with the public, difficult conversations are simply part of the job.

The most effective training doesn’t begin with techniques. It begins with the WHY, understanding the impact conflict has on people’s professional and personal lives.

When the foundation is clear, the skills land differently.