After a few tentative first steps, a fledgling community is beginning to grow and I’m very grateful for the connections we’ve already made. Thank you to everyone who attended the Embodied Lovingkindness & Compassionate Body Dialogue Workshop and, my latest offering, the weekly Wednesday Write Together. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you.

Now feels like a good moment to introduce a monthly newsletter. Here’s what’s happening in June, along with a few thoughts about how I hope to develop this community — and what I’d love to hear from you.

A quick note: everything below takes place across the first three weeks of June, as I’ll be on leave during the final week.

Compassion Journalling – 4-week course

The next course starts Tuesday 2 June, 7–9 pm UK time. Across four weekly sessions, we’ll use two-pen dialogue, visual mapping, poetry, and mindfulness to help you develop your compassionate voice and build self-trust. The course draws from Compassion Focused Therapy and is grounded in therapeutic writing practice.

One bursary place is available. There’s no means testing — simply tell me why the course speaks to you. Please check that you’re available for all four Tuesdays before applying.

Register your interest below or email me at kate@self-centred.com.

Full details here. Please share with anyone who might need it.

Wednesday Write-Together

Wednesdays, 5:30–6:30 pm UK time, on Zoom.

An hour of guided reflective writing and creative play. I offer prompts, space, and silence — no performance required.

We’ve had two sessions so far, and the feedback from those who've found it valuable has meant a great deal.

If you’re reading this and wondering whether to try it, you are warmly welcome to join us. Full details here.

Please note: in June, sessions will run during weeks one, two, and three. I’ll also be sharing a piece on expressive writing and creative health — exploring some of the research behind why spaces like this can matter.

Interviewing the wonderful Alice Bramhill

I’m looking forward to interviewing the warm, funny and inspirational Alice Bramhill. An interpersonal psychotherapist, therapeutic coach, registered mental health nurse, writer, artist, and unschooling parent to two neurodivergent children. We’ll be talking about how her career and life experience led to her being diagnosed with ADHD at 47 and Autism at 50 and how her experience informs the thriving community she has created here on Substack. Find out more here.

What would you like more of?

I’ve been sitting with a piece about the three emotional systems from Compassion Focused Therapy — threat, drive, and soothe — and how understanding them helps me manage my energy, maintain boundaries and build self-trust. It’s an integral part of Compassion Journalling I'd like to share it with those of you who haven't yet taken the course – it'll come when it's ready.

I'm also considering a second space within the Self-Centred community: Commute to Health. A framing I find genuinely useful for building sustainable movement into daily life – likely launching this September. If supporting your physical as well as psychological wellbeing feels relevant to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In the meantime, is there something you’d love me to write about or explore in a workshop? A question you keep returning to, or something from the sessions that has stayed with you? Drop a comment or send me a message – I read everything. This community is still finding its shape and your voice is helping to shape it.

And if any of this feels right for someone you know, please pass it on. Word of mouth means a great deal at this stage.