Christine McPhail MSc, MA, RD, RP

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Dafter, MI
Christine McPhail MSc, MA, RD, RP

🌈 Queer, Weight-Inclusive & Feminist
🦋 2SLGBTQIA* + EDs + grief + life transitions + self-compassion
🏡 Co-Founder .counselling

07/28/2025

✨💛🩷 Grief can be such a confusing and painful human experience and it's one we will all experience because death and loss generally is a part of life. I've worked through grief and found I really benefited from support because of how complex it was. I now hope to give my clients that space and understanding to help them navigate their own experiences with grief.

Grief can be sadness, numbness, anger, exhaustion, even laughter. It can come in waves, or catch you off guard years later.

If you’re grieving right now, I see you 🩷💛✨

07/23/2025

I work with some pretty incredible humans! I am grateful that I get to do this work everyday ✨🌿

Here's what I want my clients to know:

-I have so much respect for you! Asking for support and being vulnerable with another human is SO brave. I still think it’s pretty amazing how you are learning and growing and showing up for yourself.

-I sometimes worry if I’m doing “enough” in our work for you and with you. Thankfully, I seek supervision and your feedback regularly. I know showing up for you with compassion is the most important thing and I am grateful for your feedback too!

-You inspire me! Your life may be similar or very different from mine but I think you’re someone to admire. Getting to hear your story and how it changes is such a privilege.

-I do not have all the answers! I am a messy human too and seek my own therapy for a reason. I love my work and I have worked hard to learn more for you all but I trust your lived experience and intuition more than a textbook intervention.

Thanks for sharing your time with me always! 🩷

07/21/2025

I discovered the concept of self-compassion in my own healing journey (special thanks to my therapist!). I understood the concept but truly had not applied it to myself intentionally. It may seem like a simple concept but as I worked through The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff PhD and Christopher Germer PhD, I realized I had to do a lot of unlearning and learning and of course practice.

Here's an important expert about self-compassion, that can be great to re-visit as you try to implement self-compassion in your life.

Self-compassion has three parts:

1️⃣ Self-kindness – Talking to yourself with care instead of criticism. You may not realize how harshly you speak to yourself in comparison to how you speak to others. A great starting place is thinking about what you would say to a close friend or loved one.

2️⃣ Common humanity – Reminding yourself you’re not alone in your struggle and that suffering is a universal human experience. Pain that leaves us feeling isolated just hurts more. Connecting to the broader human experience can help us feel less "broken".

3️⃣ Mindfulness – Meeting your emotions with curiosity, not judgment. Knowing that they will pass and that they don't need to influence your next move.

07/18/2025

🫶🩷✨ Let's talk about the weight-inclusive approach to nutrition care

My first career was working as a dietitian (before I became a therapist too hehe) and that is where I learned that weight-centric messaging was getting in the way for many of my clients. They distrusted themselves and felt shame, especially when they kept hearing "they weren't doing enough" from health professionals and society. I could see it was doing harm to them and I wanted no part of it. This prompted me to start to examine different ways of approaching nutrition, which eventually lead me to the weight-inclusive approach to health and fat liberation as well. It has made a world of a difference in my work with clients!

The weight-inclusive approach isn’t just about being “body positive”—
It’s far more nuanced and complex. It's about reducing harm, challenging stigma, and improving access to respectful, effective care for everyone.

The weight-inclusive approach recognizes that all bodies are worthy of compassionate, evidence-based care—without shame or stigma 🫶🩷✨

07/16/2025

This is becoming a bit of a ritual and I hope you're enjoying getting some insight into what I say in sessions✌🌿✨🫶

07/14/2025

You’ve probably heard the advice to “just be kinder to yourself”... 🫶✨❤
But what if the myths around self-compassion are the very thing blocking you from accessing this practice?

As a therapist, I see how often people confuse self-compassion with giving up, weakness, or indulgence — when in reality, it’s one of the most powerful tools for growth and healing.

Let’s debunk some of the most common myths and redefine what self-compassion really is. 💬💛

07/11/2025

When you're not quite ready to go full “I love myself,” try a bridge phrase—a gentle step between self-criticism and self-kindness. This might feel more realistic and still has benefits!

These aren’t fake-positive. They’re real, reachable, and help shift your inner tone without pressure. You can think of it like practicing neutrality over positivity.

💬 Save these for when your brain gets loud.

07/09/2025

✨❤Compassion doesn't have to be grand to be powerful. Sometimes, the smallest acts—barely visible to others—are the most transformative for ourselves and others.

Micro-acts of compassion remind us that kindness is a practice. Small acts of compassion matter and can change how we feel towards ourselves and others over time.

Which one have you offered (or received) lately?❤✨

07/07/2025

✨🌿 Heard of ACT but unsure what it actually means? I've been using ACT approaches in therapy and have found it to be a useful framework to help support my clients.

Let’s clear up some common myths that I hear 🧠👇

ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) isn’t about “just thinking positive” or “accepting everything.” That would be toxic positivity and emotional suppression, which I'm not about. It’s about creating a new relationship with your inner world—so you can stop fighting and attaching your thoughts and start focusing on what really matters to you.

You don’t need to feel “better” before taking action. ACT helps you move forward even when things are hard and that's the whole point!✨🌿

07/03/2025

Things I've said in therapy lately ✌🌿✨🫶

06/30/2025

🌱🧠Coping Tactics from ACT Therapy 🧠🌱

As a new therapist, we are encouraged to explore a variety of types of therapies. Some advice I got was to pay attention to what modalities resonated with me the most and to use those so I show up in the therapy room as authentically as I can. That sentiment resonated with me so much and ACT has been my go-to ever since (alongside many others!). To put it simply, ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) teaches us how to make space for discomfort without getting stuck in it and to discover our authentic selves and live life in more alignment with our values. Here are 6 powerful coping tools from ACT:

🌿 Cognitive Defusion – Unhook from your thoughts without analyzing them so much (I see you cognitive reframing lol) Ask "Is this thinking pattern helpful for me/aligned with my values?"....no? Try: “I’m having the thought that…”. Imagine your thoughts drifting away. Turn down the "radio" that is the thought patterns. Say them in a funny voice. Be creative! The goal is to not get stuck in the thoughts and instead create some perspective with a bit of mental distance.

🌻 Mindfulness – Come back to the present. Use your 5-senses to ground yourself or open up a guided meditation that you can do while moving or resting.

🧘 Acceptance – Let feelings come and go without fighting them. Resistance = suffering. Mindfulness can be helpful. Approach your feelings with curiosity vs. judgement. Feelings aren't facts but they do demand to be felt and inevitably they do pass.

🎯 Values – Ask: “What kind of person do I want to be right now? In the future?” Let that guide your actions.

🤟Committed Action – Even small, value-driven steps count. Move toward what matters in your behaviour.

👤 Self-as-Context – You are not your thoughts. You’re the observer of them. Practice curiosity and openness.

✨ ACT isn’t about avoiding pain—it’s about building a life that’s meaningful despite it. ACT is about living better vs. attempting to live pain-free (which is impossible).

💬 What tactic speaks to you most today?

10/17/2024

How lovely is it to find other humans who care about others? Who want to help the world be more equitable? Who want to learn and unlearn in order to take accountability and understand their role in systems of oppression?

With the way the world is right now, I find comfort in the community of folks spending their precious life trying to help others, educate others, support others, call in others etc. There's hope as long as we care

Address

Dafter, MI

Website

http://www.blossomcounsellingcentre.com/, https://blossomcounselling.janeapp.com/

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