Between Sessions: Gentle Practices to Support Your Growth

Therapy is most powerful when it extends beyond the session room. The real transformation often happens in quiet moments — when you pause, reflect, and begin to relate to yourself in new ways.

This Client Practice Library offers a collection of guided exercises you can use between sessions to deepen your healing. Each one draws from evidence-based approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and trauma-informed mindfulness, all designed to help you feel more connected, grounded, and self-aware.

As a Calgary therapist, I’ve seen how small daily practices — such as noticing your emotions with compassion, setting gentle boundaries, or taking a mindful breath — can create profound change over time. These tools are meant to help you:

• Build emotional awareness and self-trust

• Strengthen boundaries and self-compassion

• Reconnect with your body and values

• Integrate insights from therapy into daily life

You don’t have to do them all. Start with one that resonates, and let it guide you toward greater clarity and balance. Healing isn’t about doing more — it’s about creating space for understanding, kindness, and choice.

Use these practices as small anchors of awareness between sessions — gentle reminders that your growth is ongoing, and that every step, no matter how subtle, is part of your healing journey.

Ready to take the next step?

If you’re curious about therapy or want guidance in working through emotional patterns, relationship challenges, or life transitions, I’d love to help. You can book a free 15-minute consultation or explore upcoming creative workshops and group offerings designed to support healing, self-expression, and confidence.

Client Practice Library

Parts Work & Self-Awareness

1. Meet Your Inner Parts
Take a few quiet minutes to notice what part of you is most present today — anxious, avoidant, driven, tired, etc. Ask that part:

• What are you protecting me from?

• What do you wish others understood about you?
  Write your answers or speak them out loud. The goal isn’t to fix or judge, just to understand and listen.

2. Chair Dialogue
Set two chairs facing each other. Sit in one as your “adult self,” then move to the other and speak from a “younger part.” Alternate between them to see what each side needs.

3. Daily Check-In
When strong emotions arise, pause and ask:

• “Who’s here right now?”

• “What do they need from me?”
  This helps separate self from emotion and bring curiosity to inner experience.

Somatic & Grounding Practices

1. 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
Notice:

• 5 things you can see

• 4 things you can touch

• 3 things you can hear

• 2 things you can smell

• 1 thing you can taste
  This brings you back into your body and out of rumination.

2. Tension & Release Scan
Starting from your feet, notice any tension. Breathe in, tighten the muscles there for 3 seconds, exhale and release. Move upward through your body.

3. Weighted Presence
When you feel scattered, place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Take slow breaths, feeling your weight supported by the chair or ground. Say internally: “I am here. I am safe right now.”

Boundary Setting & Relationship Patterns

1. Boundary Rehearsal
Think of a recent situation where your boundary felt crossed. Write what you wish you’d said. Practice saying it out loud using calm, assertive language.

2. Yes–No Journal
For a week, notice moments you said “yes” when you wanted to say “no.” Reflect on what you were protecting or avoiding in each moment.

3. Circle of Responsibility
Draw two circles:

• Inside = what’s truly yours to manage (your feelings, choices, energy)

• Outside = what belongs to others
  When stress builds, check where you’re focusing your energy.

Self-Compassion & Inner Dialogue

1. Self-Compassion Break
When you notice pain, say to yourself:

• “This is a moment of suffering.”

• “Suffering is part of being human.”

• “May I be kind to myself in this moment.”

2. The Soothing Voice
Write a few comforting phrases you wish someone had said to you. Read them slowly when self-criticism appears.

3. Mirror Practice
Look at yourself in the mirror each morning and offer one kind acknowledgment — something you appreciate, no matter how small.

Emotional Regulation & Reflection

1. Name It to Tame It
When a strong emotion arises, pause and label it with one clear word (anger, sadness, fear). This activates the thinking brain and calms the emotional one.

2. Emotional Waves
Visualize emotions as waves — they rise, peak, and fall. When overwhelmed, remind yourself: “This feeling has a beginning, middle, and end.”

3. The Second Arrow
When you’re hurting, notice if a second layer of self-judgment appears (“I shouldn’t feel this way”). See if you can release that second arrow and allow the first emotion to just be felt.

Values & Purpose Clarity

1. Values Sorting
List what matters most to you — connection, growth, honesty, creativity, etc. Choose your top five and write one small daily action that aligns with each.

2. Choice Alignment
Before making a decision, pause and ask: “Does this move me closer to or further from my values?”

3. Future Self Letter
Write a one-page letter from your future self who feels grounded and fulfilled. What do they thank you for doing differently today?

Cognitive Reframing & Thought Work

1. Catch–Check–Change
When a distressing thought appears, pause to:

• Catch: Notice it

• Check: Is it fact or fear?

• Change: Replace it with a gentler truth or balanced view

2. Evidence Gathering
List 3 pieces of evidence for and against a difficult belief (“I always fail,” “I’m not lovable”). Seeing both sides brings perspective.

3. External Observer
Imagine you’re watching your life like a movie. What would you notice about the main character’s effort, pain, or resilience?

Grief, Loss, and Letting Go

1. Honouring Ritual
Write a letter to what you’ve lost — a person, relationship, dream, or time in your life. End with one sentence of gratitude for what it taught you.

2. The Empty Chair
Imagine the person or situation you’re grieving is sitting across from you. Say aloud what feels unfinished.

3. Permission to Feel
Give yourself explicit permission: “It’s okay to miss this and still move forward.” Feelings of sadness or longing don’t mean regression — they mean you cared.

Creative & Box Journaling Prompts

1. The Box of Parts
Draw a simple box and divide it into sections. Label each with emotions, thoughts, or inner voices present today. Notice which take up more or less space.

2. Reframing Box
Create two sides of a box — one for “Critical Voice,” one for “Compassionate Response.” Write what each would say about the same situation.

3. Colour Reflection
Choose a colour for each mood you’ve felt this week. Paint, doodle, or collage these onto a page — no words needed. Notice which colours dominate and what they express.

Mindfulness & Daily Integration

1. One-Minute Pause
At least once per day, stop what you’re doing. Take a slow breath and notice: Where am I? What am I feeling? What’s one kind thing I can do next?

2. Gratitude in Motion
During routine activities (walking, cooking, driving), mentally name three things you’re grateful for in that moment.

3. End-of-Day Reset
Before bed, ask yourself:

• What challenged me today?

• What supported me?

• What do I want to carry forward tomorrow?

Would you like me to create a formatted PDF version of this (with your logo and brand colours) so you can print or send it to clients as part of your follow-up materials?