Workshops
When Roles Change
Building Capacity for Family Conversations About Aging
As parents age, adult children often find themselves balancing concerns about safety, independence, finances, medical decisions, and changing family roles. Add siblings, spouses, stepfamilies, or differing opinions, and even loving families can become stuck in patterns of frustration and conflict.
This workshop explores why these conversations become so difficult and offers practical tools for navigating them with greater confidence and less conflict. You'll learn how to recognize unhelpful family patterns, communicate more effectively, and focus your energy where it can actually make a difference.
Participants will learn to:
- Understand the difference between influence and control.
- Recognize why authority does not eliminate family conflict.
- Navigate disagreements between siblings and blended families.
- Build trust while respecting autonomy and dignity.
August 26, 2026 from 5:30-7pm on zoom.
If you can't join us live, I will send a recording afterwards to everyone who registers along with a link to schedule 30 minutes with me to ask questions.
Registration is $47 and can be done with the link here.
Communication Reset: From Avoidance to Action
Avoidance may provide temporary relief, but it often leads to misunderstanding, resentment, and missed opportunities for connection. This workshop explores the patterns that keep us from having the conversations that matter and provides practical tools to move forward with greater confidence and clarity.
You'll learn how to:
- Recognize the patterns that lead to avoidance.
- Understand what happens in your brain and body during difficult conversations.
- Shift from reacting emotionally to responding intentionally.
- Communicate with greater confidence, curiosity, and clarity.
This monthly workshop offered the second Tuesday of the month from 5:30-7pm on zoom.
Registration is $47 and can be done with the link here.
Building Capacity Workshop Series
Practical tools to build stronger relationships, better conversations, and lasting resilience.
This 4 workshop series will be held in person at the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce training room. Come to one or all 4. The dates are below. All workshops will be 8:00-9:30am. The cost is $47 per workshop and members of the DSM West Side and Urbandale Chambers can get a discount through the member to member deals for those organizations. Registration is open for September here.
September 3, 2026: Breaking the Patterns That Keep You Stuck
Do you ever feel like you are stuck on the conversation merry-go-round?
Before we can create new habits, we need to understand the patterns we're replacing. Many of our communication habits operate below our conscious awareness, shaping conversations in ways we don't even notice. Discover why effective communication is relational—not just transactional—and learn to recognize the patterns that keep you stuck.
REGISTER Building Capacity - September session
November 5, 2026: Better Boundaries, Better Conversations
Why do the holidays seem to pull us back into the same old conversational ruts?
Whether at work or at home, healthy relationships depend on intentional communication. As the holiday season approaches, learn practical ways to set healthy boundaries, clarify expectations, and stay grounded instead of getting pulled into familiar triggers.
January 7, 2027: The Power of Curiosity: Turning Conflict into Insight
What if the situation that presents your challenge also holds your solution?
We are surrounded by more information than ever before, yet many conversations still end in misunderstanding. What if the challenge you’re facing isn’t the obstacle – but the source of the insight you need? Discover how curiosity changes the questions you ask, the conversations you have, and the solutions you create.
March 4, 2027: Building Resilience Through Connection
How do some people stay grounded when everything around them feels uncertain?
Real security doesn't come from controlling every situation—it comes from knowing you can navigate whatever happens. Strong relationships create the conditions that allow us to become more Flexible, Adaptable, Resilient, Responsive, and Resourceful (FARRR).