You Can’t Say That! - and Other Communication Myths that Keep us from Connection

  • October 24, 2026
  • 8:00am-9:50am
  • FESTI - 2025 Courtneypark Dr East, Mississauga, ON L5T 1J3

Facilitated by DiAnna Ritola

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Messages about what we should and shouldn’t talk about as women are fed to us from childhood. We’re not supposed to complain about our struggles or brag about our achievements. We can’t talk about trauma, fear, or grief: we’ll burden others. We can’t talk about sex, bodies, or spirituality: that’s too personal. We'll use the 8-minute Connection practice as a framework for opening the door to communication, stop hiding who we are, and learn how to talk about what matters so we can enjoy nourishing, intimate connections that bring us hope and healing when we need it most.

DiAnna Ritola

DiAnna Ritola is an Interfaith Minister, counselor, educator, and healer who has been fire-service-adjacent for nearly a decade as the partner of a fire officer with FDNY. She works primarily in women’s trauma and healing using a range of modalities centered in somatic therapies, honest communication, and the power of relationship to repair the cracks and wounds that life brings. She believes, like the Japanese art of kintsugi, we are stronger when we let our broken and repaired parts shine through.