The Bloom Sessions: You’re Invited! 🌱🌷
Friday Self-Discovery Journaling and Exercises for a Happier Life. Join us!
Hi, I’m Kate, a psychotherapist writing about mental health and self-discovery, for you to flourish in a life you love. When we cultivate self-compassion, resilience and understanding, we also create a more harmonious world. Upgrade here to join the Friday Bloom Sessions, for transformative journaling reflections, empowering exercises, guided meditations, archive of 70+ posts, and if you would like to support my work. Thanks for being here! Explore the library of past posts here.
Hi friends,
Happy New Year!
It’s been such a pleasure writing this newsletter for you for the last year. It means so much that you enjoy reading my posts! I want to extend a warm welcome to new members this week, thank you for being here, friends! I guess you’re all here because, like me, you are on the path of self-acceptance, self-awareness and emotional well-being. This can be challenging though, so I’m adding a new weekly feature to my publication, The Bloom Sessions! 🌱🌷
In this post, I’ll outline what The Bloom Sessions are, how they will help you and why it matters. You can scroll down to the link to the video version.
“This is absolutely wonderful! It reinforces and echoes exactly the things that my awesome therapist says to me too! So sensible, helpful, down to earth, actionable! Thank you so much and I am going right now to subscribe!” Linn
You are Invited to The Bloom Sessions!
You’ll know by now that looking after our mental health takes a bit of effort in our modern world, just like looking after our bodies, homes and relationships. If we aren’t aware of our unchecked thoughts, outdated patterns, and unexplored emotions, and how they may be shaping our lives - we can end up confused and suffering.
Life can be tough, so this work is necessary and beautiful, not to mention illuminating and fun! Encountering and living life from our true self brings satisfaction, acceptance and meaning.
It’s natural for us humans to want to grow, and also to protect ourselves. Most of our issues stem from the adaptations we make as we protect our precious sense of self in difficult circumstances, relationships and environments we have lived through. The protective mechanism can hinder us if it is over-protective, misaligned or outdated. It is often this, as well as gaps in our psyches, that can cause anxiety, low mood, keeping ourselves small, hiding, clinging to the same old patterns, confusing emotions, and so many more processes that may not serve us.
When we connect with ourselves in curiosity, we encounter the vibrant beauty of our light, our life force. This can even feel exhilarating. Eep! ✨
I’ll guide you in self-directed explorations of your thoughts and feelings with honesty, compassion, and curiosity. And I’ll cheer you on from the other side of these words.
“Thank you for these wise words. I am going on a self discovery journey, just changed career but not sure I have made the right choice, and peri-menopause also isn’t helping. Your writing encourages me to carry on learning about myself and finding my light bulb moments. Thank you.” Yean
Tending Your Garden 🌱
Did you ever read or watch the secret garden? When we come across an old gnarly secret doorway we may feel apprehension about what is behind it. Perhaps a sliver of courage and curiosity allows us to creak the door open, and we discover more than we imagined. What’s inside isn’t something to fear, but something beautiful - because it’s you! Bear with me…
Some parts of our garden are overgrown and need pruning or weeding. Others need water, and sunshine, new soil and food. We can explore and discover what’s there, gorgeous flowers, glades, waterfalls - lost treasures of our own minds.
We can weed anything we don’t want, unhelpful patterns, old stories, limiting beliefs, out of date emotional responses and thoughts. We can clear it and bring it to life, discover it’s beauty and plant new things, like courage, confidence, healing and meaning. We will water and tend, until our garden blooms!
Our garden can then stay strong through storms, through winter, through droughts, and everything in between.
Thanks for bearing with me through the analogy!
“Thank you so much Kate this was incredibly powerful for me.” Rosine
The Bloom Sessions 🌷
Friday morning posts (10am if you’re in the UK, that’s 5am ET - though they are evergreen for you to use whenever suits you, wherever you live in the world.)
Self-directed sessions to gently explore your inner world in a way that can lead to healing, change, and personal growth. I’ll be there to support you in the comments. (One in four will be a review/catch up/action week, and I’ll break for school holidays). Until Easter for now, and if you enjoy it, I’d love to continue all year!
I’ll create and share transformative therapeutic journaling and self-discovery exercises around topics often explored in therapy to create psychological shifts. You can uncover and release hidden patterns that could be harming you, challenge limiting beliefs that hold you back, and gain clarity so you can bloom into yourself.
An anchor to give yourself a routine for illuminating self-discovery work, around 20-40 minutes a week in the quiet comfort of home, when it suits you. Or just read the reflective questions to ponder as you go about your day. You will be able to save them to do anytime.
Suggest topics that are true for you so I can include them, let me know in the comments.
You aren’t alone! Join in the confidential comments to share progress, get accountability and ask me anything. I’ll be in the comments on Fridays and throughout the week.
You’ll finish each Bloom Session with a shift, an insight and an action plan.
I’ll still be posting my normal writings too.
Over time, you can reframe your struggles, build resilience, and unlock new perspectives, empowering yourself to make meaningful changes. Or maybe you need to come home to yourself, change can mean acceptance and release. Either way, you’ll feel more congruent, more authentic, more accepting, more free to bloom into your true self.
“As I came to the end of regular therapy, I knew I would need a little scaffolding around me, and feel that’s just what you give me. So thank you. For being brave, consistent and supportive to me. I am very grateful.” Vanessa
The Bloom Sessions will help to:
Challenge negative thoughts
Break through limiting beliefs
Build resilience
Grow self worth
Improve mood
Embrace our imperfect selves
Lessen anxiety
Integrate our shadow side
Align our actions with our hopes and dreams
Gain clarity in all our choices
The gentle work we can do also has a ripple effect across our loved ones and communities too. As you bloom, you give others permission to do the same. And we can all move forward together!
About me
I’m Kate, a psychotherapist and counsellor in the UK, with a Professional Diploma in therapeutic counselling, a MSc in Contemporary Gestalt Psychotherapy, a Certificate in couples counselling and in counselling young people. I worked with clients of all ages for about 16 years, and witnessed first hand the power of this type of enquiry, and the transformation it can bring. I draw on this work to create these sessions for you to use in this gentle, self-directed work.
I’m 50, and currently ‘enjoying’ the peri-menopause ride! I am a mum to a lovely 18 year old daughter, now at university, and run a small business making handmade jewellery here.
So I hope you’ll join me and become a paid member if you haven’t already, and I’ll see you on Fridays. Start with the new year journaling sessions below, or I’ll see you next week. If you want to stay a free subscriber you are welcome, I’ll still be writing posts for you too, though less often.
Let’s make 2025 your year to bloom!
Thanks for being here! I’d love to know, what is your greatest priority in January? Let me know in the comments.
With love and gratitude,
Kate
P.S. if you think others may find this useful, do help me spread the word by liking and sharing. 🙏🏻🌱🌷
“Thank you Kate. So glad I came back to your membership. I was feeling lost for a while.” Clare
“I’m so glad to have found you on here… you have inspired and helped me in so many wonderful ways. Thank you for all that you do.” Eva
You’re welcome here, whatever has happened, wherever and whoever you are! If you are distressed, or find this kind of reflective work too upsetting, you may benefit instead from one to one therapy. Ask your your doctor, or search here if you are in the UK. Kate x
What is your main priority for January? Mine is to focus on the Bloom Sessions, to make it happen, and enjoy the gift of this new year as it unfolds. 🌷
Do you have a topic or issue you’d like to delve into? Let me know in the comments. 🌱