Bloom Couples Counseling

03/13/2023

I’m hosting an in-person workshop for couples in Winston-Salem on April 1st! Link in bio for details and purchasing. Sign up by March 20th for a $40 discount. Only 10 spots available.

In this 4-hour intensive, we will unravel the mystery of why partners get stuck in negative communication, and tap into the innate yearning to connect and attach with your partner. Using the wisdom of attachment theory, polyvagal theory, nature connection, and mythology, The Vibrant Couple workshop is meant to get out of our “fix-it” rational mind, and into a here-and-now space where we lean into the vibrancy of connection that we all are born with.

The workshop will use a combination of education, experiential exercises, group dynamics, body-centered work, and the wisdom of our natural surroundings. We don’t think our way into vibrancy; we have to experience it. Working with couples is something I am on this earth to do. I cannot wait to bring this wonderful kind of healing to a communal shared healing space.

I’ll also have the assistance of my partner in life and many things , someone who has taught me more about relationships than anyone!

Price of workshop is per couple. Email me for questions.

05/01/2022

During my second weekend with .holistic.survival.school earlier this month I picked up a chestnut oak leaf with a squiggly marking on it. I’ve seen these many times before, appreciating the strange artwork nature gives us.

I showed it to my teacher, Luke, and we talked about the leaf miner bug. Almost the entire lifespan of this insect takes place inside a leaf, where it hatches and mines out a path, feeding, until it exits and becomes a tiny moth who flies to reproduce another generation.

The effect of seeing the engraved marking of a life’s journey slowed me down. A LOT.

The choices. The turns. The widening. The straight path. The legacy. Our significance and insignificance.

The longer I live and wind on my own path, the more I’m finding myself letting go of definitive answers, even the question of “what is my purpose,” or “how do I heal?”

The good news and hard news is that healing, put simply, is a relationship. To yourself. To your partner(s). Your friends, family, community, and the earth. The healing part comes when we make choices according to the inner current alive in every moment. It isn’t about getting it right, it’s about learning to trust that you are also a forever changing ecosystem. Sometimes we are in balance. Sometimes our imbalance is the thing needed for growth. Think of the pine cones that need fire to open.

And because I really don’t like things to be too abstract, here’s a practice I’ll suggest. Take a walk in the woods or around your neighborhood, barefoot for extra credit 😜, and stop every few minutes for at least 60 seconds or more. Observe. Notice. Listen. And then make a choice of where to go next without thinking too much.

This is an adaptation from a hunting method I use. The beauty of it is that it forces you into slowing down, listening, and coming face to face with the busyness of our minds that like to on autopilot.

Happy choosing, people. 🏔🔥

09/19/2015

Apple Fest!!

09/18/2015

Busy at work. I love seeing history preserved and made anew.

09/15/2015

It's okay to change your mind.

09/14/2015

This is an episode of In Session, a podcast I host with George Bitar. As we prepare a new set of episodes I wanted to bring this one back. It's relevance never goes away.

For my next blog post I wanted to share something that has been shared before. That statement has a double meaning, actually. First, this is an episode of my podcast called In Session, a show I do with my fellow colleague and friend, Dr. George Bitar. We released it last year, along with another two…

09/10/2015

http://www.macleodpsychotherapy.com/services-gallery/0dx8q4s6nxj146ivu0msm663f7z24w Ryan MacLeod

No matter the issue--depression, anxiety, addiction, or trauma--people are
given a tailored path to achieve real, lasting change through the use of
cognitive-behavioral and narrative therapies, & mindfulness practice,
tailored to fit the most relevant needs. Clients find insight into the
issue at hand, while at the same time they learn practical skills to make
change sustainable.

09/08/2015

Take a look at my new blog! It's always good to know what to do instead of taking out the verbal boxing gloves.

If you are reading this then you are probably curious if you've ever said one of the forbidden statements with your spouse or partner. I can assuredly say there is a good chance you have. In fact, most people have or will find themselves so worked up, so defensive, or so righteously justified, that…