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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
The Grief We Don’t Talk About: Parenting When Life Looks Different Than You Imagined
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash By Haide Giesbrecht When we think of grief, we often associate it with the loss of a person, a pet, or...
Haide Giesbrecht
Jul 22, 20254 min read
Beyond Boredom: What Helped Me When I Was Stuck on the Couch
"This is the face of boredom... give me your best ideas for easy things to do while binge-watching shows. Have enough energy to be bored,...
Haide Giesbrecht
Jul 14, 20253 min read
The Truth of Who You Are: A Therapist’s Loving Reminder
Sometimes we all just need a little encouragement.
A moment to pause.
To be reminded of the truth of who we are.
Haide Giesbrecht
May 27, 20253 min read
Last Domino Standing
This week, I had the absolute joy of recording a podcast episode with two of my dear friends, Laura and Darice. We dove into an honest...
Haide Giesbrecht
May 16, 20251 min read
Embracing Rest: Reflections on the Gift of Unhurried Time
Life, especially in our fast-paced, demanding North American culture, often leaves little room for true rest. Looking back, if I could..
Haide Giesbrecht
May 2, 20253 min read
Living Well in a Broken World: Survival Strategies for Heart Holders
We live in interesting times, and some days, I find myself carrying a gnawing feeling in my stomach. As someone who is passionate about...
Haide Giesbrecht
Mar 24, 20255 min read
Conversations Between Friends: International Women's Day 2025
Just in time for International Women's Day 2025, I had the privilege of hosting two of my dear friends on my podcast. Laura and Darice have
Haide Giesbrecht
Mar 8, 20252 min read
An Unconventional New Year's Greeting
As we head into 2025, our regular greeting is "Happy New Year!" A common phrase that wishes well & acknowledges the start of a new season.
Haide Giesbrecht
Jan 1, 20253 min read
'Tis the Season!
"Tis the season of expectations. Of gathering, gifts, family time and celebration. The chhallenge, when autism is part of one's landscape is
Haide Giesbrecht
Dec 6, 20243 min read
Living in the Shadow of Grief
People sometimes ask me if my blog has a specific focus or intent. My main intent is to walk alongside my readers, sharing my...
Haide Giesbrecht
Oct 14, 20249 min read
Brave
As children, we learn strategies to adapt to difficult situations and to keep ourselves safe. These strategies work.. until they don't..
Haide Giesbrecht
Sep 11, 20245 min read
Love, Loss, Pets
This blog post was originally planned to be about the bravery needed to feel and express emotions. That post will yet come at a later...
Haide Giesbrecht
Aug 27, 20244 min read
Assumptions: When A Hypothesis Runs Amok Without Proof
Sometimes things are not what they seem. My then good friend and I were heading to see a movie. We had been enjoying spending a lot of...
Haide Giesbrecht
Aug 1, 20245 min read
Empathy of Grief
Grief is one of those journeys none of us willingly chooses. Grief follows a loss. This can be a loss of someone we care about, someone...
Haide Giesbrecht
Jul 5, 20246 min read
A Different Point of View
How we see the world differs by where we're standing. Our elderly family dog, Oli, loves to go for walks. He particularly loves walks...
Haide Giesbrecht
Jun 1, 20242 min read
Mother's Day is Not Just a Hallmark Moment
Many days of celebration bring with it the potential of pain. Each of us brings our whole self to these days that are assumed to be days...
Haide Giesbrecht
May 8, 20243 min read
But What If I Cry?
“Dr. Kovitz looks at him over his notepad. Phil notices then the two boxes of tissues on the table. He wonders absently how many people...
Haide Giesbrecht
Mar 17, 20244 min read
Holding Regret Tenderly
“How to hold regret tenderly: I wish I would have done that differently, and, at the time I couldn’t.” ~ Syanna Ward It was a cozy winter...
Haide Giesbrecht
Mar 8, 20245 min read
"Curiosity Killed the Cat" and other Misnomers
Have you ever wondered where that expression comes from? As an immigrant child who learned English as a second language, I often miss the...
Haide Giesbrecht
Feb 22, 20244 min read
From Nothing to Something
The end of the year seems to lend itself well to a time of reflecting on what has been and what is to come. Yet research consistently...
Haide Giesbrecht
Dec 31, 20234 min read
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