Intentionality

NOTE: My blog has moved to Substack. You are welcome to sign up here. Just note that future emails will come from the Substack server.

I love offering encouragement, motivation, and tips for living life well. I started the Encouragement Along the Journey Blog with a mission to give others a taste of my thoughts and experiences, offering a little sampling of what it is like to be in my counselling office with me.

The topics I write about here are close to my heart—the kinds of things I find myself coming back to often in conversation, in my counselling office, in reflection, and in my own journey of growth.

Take some time to explore the blog and find what sparks your interest. Feel free to reach out if you would like to collaborate on a project together. Read on and enjoy!

My Approach to Counselling

Background: As Master's students in a counselling psychology program, we were encouraged to do the work ourselves that we would be asking...

Grief Has No Expiry Date

Grief doesn’t arrive only with death. It shows up in lost dreams, unmet hopes, and the quiet ways life changes shape over time. And once it arrives, it doesn’t follow a neat timeline or disappear when we think it should. In this reflection, I write about the ongoing nature of grief. About how it changes us, how it revisits us, and how we learn to keep living even when loss becomes part of our story. I also share personally about missing my brother and sister-in-law decades af

On Being and Becoming: Hope, Humility, and Staying Teachable

This reflection brings my On Being and Becoming series to a close, although it feels more like an invitation to continue than an ending. What began as a simple list of questions I often return to, slowly unfolded into a series that asked for time, attentiveness, and space to breathe. Along the way, I explored themes of time, love, grief, presence, writing, and authenticity. Each theme is shaped by lived experience rather than tidy conclusions. In this final piece, I turn tow

On Being and Becoming: Hope, Humility, and Staying Teachable

This reflection brings my On Being and Becoming series to a close, although it feels more like an invitation to continue than an ending. What began as a simple list of questions I often return to, slowly unfolded into a series that asked for time, attentiveness, and space to breathe. Along the way, I explored themes of time, love, grief, presence, writing, and authenticity. Each theme is shaped by lived experience rather than tidy conclusions. In this final piece, I turn tow

Haide Giesbrecht

Jan 241 min read

On Being and Becoming: The Quiet Work of Character

This reflection explores the relationship between writing, character, and authenticity. At the heart of the piece is a gentle tension between honesty and discernment. This post is part of the On Being and Becoming series, a collection of reflections on presence, growth, and the ongoing work of becoming who we are beneath the surface.

Haide Giesbrecht

Jan 161 min read

Celebrating Ourselves: A Birthday Reflection

Birthdays used to be simple for me. Cupcakes, candles, and celebrations that marked who someone was and what mattered to them. Somewhere along the way, that kind of care quietly shifted outward, and I stopped offering it to myself. In this reflection, I write about the slow accumulation of mental load, the experience of feeling unseen, and what it means to begin celebrating ourselves again in small, honest ways. Not as performance or productivity, but as care. This piece expl

Haide Giesbrecht

Jan 111 min read

Staying Present (On Being & Becoming)

In last week’s reflection, I explored love and grief through questions that asked how we remain open to relationship while knowing that loss will return. This week, the focus shifts. The next part in the series turns toward the lived implications of that awareness. How does knowing grief shape the way we show up in relationship now? How do we create safety for others? And what are we teaching our children, not just through our words, but through how we live and care for ourse

Haide Giesbrecht

Jan 41 min read

Reflections on Love, Grief, and Relationship

Grief and relationship are deeply intertwined. To love is to open ourselves to loss, not only through death, but through change, distance, and the quiet endings that happen when relationships shift. We grieve people, moments, and versions of ourselves that can no longer be held in the same way. This reflection is part of my Being and Becoming series, an exploration of love, loss, and what it means to remain present as we change. Read the full essay on Substack.

Haide Giesbrecht

Dec 30, 20251 min read

If We're Willing: What My Clients Continue to Teach Me

Raising a neurodiverse family has shaped me in countless ways, but so has the work I do in the therapy room. Over the years, I’ve realized how deeply my clients continue to teach me—about perspective, healing, resilience, and what it means to show up with presence. Their stories offer a kind of wisdom no textbook can capture, and I carry those lessons with me far beyond the walls of my office. I’ve learned how past experiences shape present reactions, how authenticity builds

Haide Giesbrecht

Dec 6, 20251 min read

If We're Willing: Learning from the Little Humans Who Change Us

Insights from parenting a beautifully neurodiverse family—and how our children can become our greatest teachers if we’re willing to learn.

Haide Giesbrecht

Nov 30, 20251 min read

Substack: What Neurodivergence Has Taught Me About Love

Some lessons in life continue to unfold long after we first learn them. This post is one of those for me. Originally written years ago and now gently revised, it remains significant in my journey as a reminder of what becomes possible when we stay open to being taught by the people we love. In it, I share pieces of my story of partnership and relationship: the unexpected challenges, the shifts in understanding, and the slow, meaningful work of learning to communicate with cla

Haide Giesbrecht

Nov 24, 20251 min read