The August Roundup 🌷

ICYMI — End-of-summer blues, real talk on capacity, and group therapy to help you hold it all 🤎

🌀 Welcome to The Roundup

Our monthly overview (and recap) of all the articles + content we’ve shared this month, plus reminders, updates + curated resources for you to save, download or pass along to someone who needs it!

As therapists we get lots of data that help us see what folks in our direct community are experiencing, how people are interacting with each other (on a micro and macro level), and the topics and issues on the top of people’s minds as they move through the world.

The major themes for this month (across the board) were:

  • Ambiguous grief is real. Strained parent and sibling relationships are bringing up losses that don’t involve death but still change daily life. Naming it as grief is helping people make sense of the waves.

  • Fresh-start pressure. “How will I get it all done?” keeps showing up as school, work, and caregiving ramp back up. Folks are juggling real capacity limits with high expectations for a “new season reset.”

  • Where did August go? The quick flip from heat to hustle has people missing the warmth they complained about in July. Many are pulling out SAD lamps and light-therapy routines now rather than waiting.

  • Boundary rework season. Calendars are filling fast, and people are renegotiating availability with partners, co-parents, managers, and family. The muscle here is saying “this is what I can offer” without apology.

Any of the above resonate? Drop your comments, questions and reflections below and tell us what’s on your mind. We gotchu.

👀 ICYMI: What we wrote about this month

Save & share, or bookmark for a rainy day read ☔️

  • Breaking Free from Perfectionism: Shifting From Survival to Growth — Shifting from perfection to precision — ⚡️plus get our free resource guide Read more here

  • Psychology Journal Article Roundups 🧠: Recently, our founder and clinical director Meghan Watson (IG:@thrive_withmeg) has been compiling interesting reads in the APA journal The American Psychologist. Dip in when you have five minutes, and save the PDFs when you want to go deeper. → Browse every roundup here.

🌳 Bloom in The Media

When we’re not writing here, find us sharing our thoughts across social media and publications across the web 👩🏾‍💻

💍  Brides | 12 Signs You’re Falling Out of Love With Your Partner, According to a Relationship Expert — Plus, advice on how to handle (and potentially remedy) this situation. Written by Gabriella Rello Duffy & Stacey Laura Lloyd. Read online

💜 Essence | 8 Self-Care Practices To Integrate During Your Work Day — Although you may be passionate about your job, practicing self-care while working is still important. Here’s how you can do it. Written by Dominique Fluker. Read online

📅 Where to find us: upcoming events

Group Therapy for Women of Colour: Healing Through Burnout

📅 Weekly - In Person - Saturdays starting on September 27th - October 25th, 2025
 2:00pm - 3:30pm
📍The Villij Studios - 5 Dickens St, Toronto

🤎 We’re back with another group therapy experience this fall, facilitated by Bloom founder Meghan Watson, RP, and Bloom therapist Tracy Amponsah Owusu-Gyimah, RSW. This group offers a community-centered approach to navigating burnout specifically tailored for Women of Colour. Learn more and sign up for the group HERE.

📖 Books we love & recommend 🤓

If you’ve ever wondered what your therapist is reading, or what books they really recommend, check out the latest in our series What’s On Your Therapist’s Bookshelf? Growing Pains readers get the full list we don’t share on IG, so tap in below and add a few to your TBR list (or bookmark this post for later!)

(Notion Link) ☞ Bloom Book Recommendations 🌷📚 (edits ongoing!)

💻 Digital reads & downloads: resources curated just for you

Catch you next month.

With love,

The Bloom team 🤎

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