Communication is central to every relationship and interaction we have. We are social creatures and connection is our most important non-basic need. Effective communication is necessary for fostering connection, mutual respect, and understanding. No matter how good your content is or how right you are, it's useless if the other person isn't receiving it well, and besides individual differences, we all have our various defense mechanisms. Join your instructor Matt in a focused, fast-paced training session designed to provide in-depth skills and knowledge on effective communication. You will learn expert tools and strategies from the fields of: psychotherapy, crisis intervention, leadership/ coaching, and sales. Why these specific fields? Psychotherapy: Counseling skills involve building therapeutic relationships, navigating complex emotions, and a motivational approach. Crisis intervention: A crisis situation is as intense as it can be, where both emotions and risk are high, and effective communication is of the upmost importance. Leadership/Coaching: Leader inspire shared visions, rally entire organizations, and re-focus on goals. They are charismatic and inspiring visionaries. Coaches are motivating, able to captivate, articulate, and nurture the best in people. Sales: The art of sales is necessary in communication because much of what we do in our daily lives is negotiate. My needs versus yours, how are we getting this task done, differences of opinions, when we're selling a product or selling an idea, and that idea could be encouraging someone to get help when they don't want to. Next classes: Saturday November 22, 2025 - 09:00 am - 05:00 pm Eastern Time (VIRTUAL) Sunday, January 04, 2026 - 09:00 am - 05:00 pm Eastern Time (VIRTUAL) A digital reference guide will be provided to all participants along with a certificate of attendance and letter outlining the course content for continuing education credit. If you have a minimum of 10 participants, you can book a one-day class, that can be taken either online or in-person. Discounts available depending on group size and classes booked. Your instructor will work with you to find a mutually agreed upon schedule and arrangements. Any time of the day, evening, and even nights are available for training dependent on instructor availability. For in-class training, other cost considerations include where the training is being held, if a meeting room is available, and how far the location is to the Greater Toronto Area/Durham Region. Your instructor is available to fly-out to other provinces for in-class teaching if that is preferred over virtual training. To book a private class, please contact: [email protected] About the instructor: Matthew Rico, RN, CPMHN(C), PsychotherapistClinician, Educator, Consultant https://openingminds.org/facilitator/?uid=772 Matthew has over 14+ years of experience in mental health and is a person with lived experience. He has worked with various populations and mental health disorders across many different settings. This includes youth/adolescents to older adults receiving inpatient care. Matthew is a Registered Nurse (RN) by trade, specialized in mental health, psychotherapy, and education. He has been involved in research, quality/accreditation, and held various professional roles over his career. Matthew has been teaching non-violent crisis intervention for 11+ years, delivered Mental Health First Aid to 2100+ Canadians since 2018, and is one of the first Canadians certified to provide Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) training from the Zero Suicide Institute. He has developed and delivered various workshops, presentations, and educational material for hospitals, schools, and other organizations. At Ontario Shores, he co-developed microcredentials on topics such as mindfulness, self-care, motivational interviewing (MI), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). He teaches biannually on culture and mental health for nurses preparing to take their CNA psychiatric specialty examination. Matthew is also a Clinical Instructor for mental health at Trent University (Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, TFSON). Why is this experience relevant? Matthew brings his courses to life using his personality, passion, and years of diversified experience. He translates the information, adding context to the content through storytelling, expert insights, and the use of anecdotes and metaphors.
