Canadian Center For Applied Insight Conflict Resolution

09/14/2026

Not your typical anti-bullying class! 🧠

Sage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu owner, Shawna and I are both fairly well-versed in physical de-escalation… but this workshop is going to be a little different!

We'll be getting creative with Play-Doh!🌈Through creative prompts, kids will create, change and reflect as they explore how our actions, expressions, assumptions and choices can affect the way others experience us. They’ll create characters, transform them and think about what it means to: Include others, speak up, show empathy and challenge our assumptions.

📅 September 28
⏰ 5:15–7:00 PM
👧🧒 Target Age: 6–12 years old
📍 Ashcroft Hub – 711 Hill Street, Ashcroft
🎟️ FREE for Sage BJJ members | $25 for visitors

Please Join Us!

08/14/2026

Why ask your team to create something with Play-Doh? 🦑

Because people don't always do their best thinking when they are asked to express themselves only verbally.

Creative building gives participants time to reflect, organize their ideas, and explain their perspective in a different way (as well as gives their subconscious an opportunity to present itself! see my Jiujitsu purple belt from a couple posts ago on photo 2 😂)

The goal is not artistic talent. The value comes from the meaning behind what people create, and what the team learns by listening and observing.

08/07/2026

This popped up on my Facebook feed the other day and reminded me of myself before I got into conflict resolution work.

I avoided difficult conversations because I just didn't know how to start them without the other person freaking out.

One of the most rewarding things about the work we do now is seeing people realize they can navigate challenging conversations strategically, with confidence and skill.

Difficult conversations don't get easier by avoiding them. We get better by learning how to have them!

07/28/2026

I connected with fellow Play-Doh Power Solutions partner, Rita K. Garnto visiting from North Carolina, originally from , BC (what are the chances?!)

Although we facilitate in different places, we share a similar goal: helping teams communicate, reflect, and understand one another in a more active and engaging way.

07/21/2026

Like my purple sausage?

During our Play-Doh Power Solutions training, Starfish Synergies Inc. asked us to use our Play-Doh to create something we identify with.

I made my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt. And admittedly, it looked more like a thick purple sausage than an actual belt, but I don't think that was by accident- I think it was my subconscious revealing itself to express the magnitude of what the sport, and my belt mean to me? And explaining it in the workshop helped me reflect on what it represents to me: discipline, resilience, setbacks, community, and years of showing up to class.

That's part of the power of this process. Creating something tactile helps people express ideas and experiences that may not come out in a typical workplace discussion. 💁‍♀️

07/14/2026

Something colourful arrived at my front door! 📦
(Thank you Starfish Synergies Inc. !)

The second photo is my unopened welcome box after becoming British Columbia’s first accredited partner licensed to facilitate Team Cohesion workshops using Play-Doh.

The first is after opening it: my dining room table covered in everything needed to bring a different kind of team development experience to workplaces across BC.

These Team Cohesion workshops use Play-Doh to help teams build, reflect, communicate, and explore how they work together. It's playful, practical, and designed to create conversations that may not happen around a boardroom table.

The welcome box is officially open, and I am now booking workshops for fall 2026.

07/08/2026

Play-Doh at work? Yes! Promise there's a method to the squish!🐙

Your team has sat through enough passive training! This fall, give them a fun, hands-on workshop.

I’m now booking Team Cohesion Workshops for September 2026 using Play-Doh Power Solutions, a hands-on, neuroscience-informed approach to helping teams strengthen communication, build trust, and better understand how they work together.

This workshop is designed for teams that want something more engaging, practical, and memorable than a traditional sit-and-listen training session.

Participants use Play-Doh as a creative tool to explore communication, physiological safety, team strengths, and practical action steps they can take back into the workplace.

It’s interactive, useful, and different in the best way.
Now booking for September and Fall 2026.

Send me a message or email [email protected] to learn more or inquire about bringing this workshop to your team.💫

06/30/2026

Brown belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu!🟫

Last week, I took my purple belt off and had a brown belt wrapped around my waist.

I spent over 3 years as a purple belt, and I had a lot of firsts in that time. I taught my first women's class, refereed my first tournament, grappled in a cage for the first time, and experienced my first real jiujitsu injury- a torn ulnar collateral ligament in my left arm. I had some satisfying wins in competition and some hard losses too!

The Kanji on my purple belt reads: "The battle never ends" I'd say that's pretty accurate.

06/11/2026

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.

06/08/2026

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!⭐