Communication and Conflict: Skills to Build Positive Relationships and Improve Your Interactions with Your Students and Supervisees (2 hours)

This workshop will focus on research derived strategies for maintaining and enhancing relationships that are practical and effective. For example, come and find out what research has shown can predict the stability and satisfaction of your relationships with others with over 90% accuracy. In this workshop you’ll learn specific strategies and skills to communicate both positive as well difficult feedback, and address conflict in a way that may be easier for others to hear without compromising the integrity of your message. You’ll also learn about conflict styles, nonverbal communication, and gain skills to address behaviours that get in the way of connecting and communicating, including the four behaviours that have been empirically shown to be most damaging to communicating and building positive relationships.

Presenter Bio:
Dr. Lori Mac is a registered Counselling Psychologist who has been with the University of Manitoba Student Counselling Centre since 2008. She is a generalist, while also specializing in the areas of interpersonal relationships (building healthy relationships, interpersonal difficulties, break-ups), communication and conflict, and trauma (single-event, developmental, complex) as particular areas of interest. In addition to providing personal, career, group, and couples counselling as well as workshops and outreach, Dr. Mac was the Assistant Director of Training and one of the primary supervisors for the SCC Predoctoral Residency Program in Professional Psychology for 15 years prior to the end of the residency program in 2026. Dr. Lori Mac now offers, and is the supervisor for, a doctoral level specialty practicum in trauma treatment.