Courageous Conversations - Online Small Group Practice

a series for anyone who wants to grow their relational conflict skills
— starts Oct 24th 2025
HYBRID
Online Content & Live Calls

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They say the key to healthy relationships is communication, but what happens when there's conflict and we freeze up, want to run away, or feel so much emotion we don't know where to start?

This practice group empowers participants with greater confidence in navigating relational conflict through two key approaches:
  1. Frameworks for navigating challenging conversations
  2. Somatic skills for supporting your nervous system 


With a hybrid approach of weekly live calls where we get to practice conversations in small groups, and online multimedia (instructional videos, text with audio narration, visual guides) that you can review at home, you'll be supported as you grow new skills for embodied communication and discover the possibilities of conflict intimacy.
  • 5 weeks course content
  • 5 live group calls 
  • 6 months course content access (till May 1st 2026)
  • small group class: max 20-22 participants

A trauma-informed approach

Integrating somatic, trauma-informed principles and practices to support a novel approach to navigating conflict in relationships.

Applicable for All Relationships

This space is queer, trans, and non-monogamy affirming, but welcomes all orientations, genders, and relational styles.

Why I created this practice group:

Like you, I've struggled to speak up when I wanted to. I've also dug my heels in so far during an argument that I dug myself into a hole. And, I've felt the impact that my own lack of skill had on the relationships that mattered to me and the people I loved.

In the mid 2010s, when I was deeply immerse in teaching about consent culture and working with models like The Wheel of Consent (tm) I began to realise that having a formula for difficult conversations wasn't enough — people needed tools to help them find the inner resources to have those conversations, stay true to themselves, and still hold space for the experiences and needs of others.

As I developed my coaching practice and expanded my knowledge and skills with somatics (specifically, Hanna Somatics and Somatic Experiencing), I started to bring these into play with coaching clients who were struggling with conflict in their relationships. What I discovered was that a combination of nervous system awareness, movement, and sensory noticing, could actually help create more connection were previously there had just been disconncection.

Over the years, I have woven this work in snippets into several of my workshops and courses, but it never felt like there was enough time to dive in deep into this specific topic and practices. I've created this practice group with the intention to offer a space where we can go deeper, where folks can come away with not just an intellectual understanding of courageous communication, but embodied confidence to navigate conflict with more ease.
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What's In This Course:

praise from other courses

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you SO MUCH for the absolutely illuminating, grounding and mind blowing session last night. I can't wait to integrate the awareness that emerged yesterday.
Your work is profound! Thank you so much!

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
VANCOUVER CANADA
This was one of the best workshops I have taken regarding polyamory and trauma informed agreements in twenty-five plus years of seeking to develop skills within myself and relationships.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
SEATTLE, USA
[This course] has been such a landmark in my life. You rock!
I've been able to articulate and communicate much better within my relationships and to create safe spaces.


Workshop Participant,
Ireland
This was my first polyam-related workshop, and I really loved it. Mel was an excellent facilitator: welcoming, knowledgeable, professional, well defined boundaries at beginning, knew when to stay on a subject and when to move on, etc. I was incredibly impressed and would love to attend more

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT
I LOVE how you organize your rich information. You also have a knack for setting up a really safe, thoughtful, reflective container for learning... your teaching brings together an amazing community of courageous humans that gather to learn and practice trauma-informed relating with ourselves and others!Sunday's class was a deeply nourishing in ways I didn't know I missed / needed. 
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Your workshop was SO helpful and amazing. THANK YOU! Magnificent and earth-moving! Like moving things that have felt stuuuuuck!


WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT,
PORTLAND, USA
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