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Sass Boucher MSc

@sassboucher.bsky.social
587 followers 388 following 2.8K posts

Counsellor & Psychotherapist (UK) Exploring what happens when supporting other human beings is part of who we are or what we do. Writer • Trainer • Co-Founder, SelfCare Psychology

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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
It’s been a while so though I’d say hi 👋
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Supporting other human beings changes us. Sometimes in beautiful ways. Sometimes in difficult ways. Often in both. I’m an accredited counsellor & psychotherapist in the UK, exploring the impact of supporting others through therapy, writing, training & research. People who support others matter too.
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Long time ago now! I can’t even remember what I was writing 🤣
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Maybe it isn’t about getting “there.” Maybe there isn’t a “there.” Just us… learning, unlearning, becoming. 💚 #TherapyCanBe
Maybe it isn’t about getting “there.” Maybe there isn’t a “there.” Just us… learning, unlearning, becoming. 💚 #TherapyCanBe
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde. Maybe therapy is where we get to show up as we are, no pretending? It could be about learning to embrace ourselves, without fear. What might it look like to be unapologetically ourselves? 💚 #TherapyIs #MentalHealthAwareness
Be yourself quite from Oscar Wilde
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Back in the training saddle! We’ve had two brilliant days with social work managers—laughing, learning, and exploring the risks, remedies & rewards of leading in trauma-exposed roles. Supporting the supporters matters. #SelfCarePsychology #SocialWorkLeadership #TheFivePillarsOfProtection
PowerPoint slide
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Okay, I admit it—I love sweets, and this personalised ‘Tangsasstic’ bag made me smile! 🍬 It got me thinking: therapy’s like this too—each session, like each flavour, is different. Embrace the uniqueness of your journey. 💚 #TherapyIs #TherapistsConnect #PersonCentred #Healing
The front of a packet of haribo
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Therapy doesn’t ask us to be fully open from day one. It offers space to notice the parts of ourselves we might have hidden—without even realising it. And when we do? That’s where the real work happens. #TherapyIs #MentalHealthMatters
Therapy is where I try to bring my ful self
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Thank you for sharing ☺️
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
That’s kind, I’m really glad you do ☺️
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
We don’t always realise what we hold back until we’re in a space safe enough to explore it. Therapy isn’t about rushing that process—it’s about noticing, making space, and allowing more of ourselves to show up in time. #TherapyIs #Authenticity #therapistsconnect
Therapy is where I try to bring my full self
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
"Boundaries with ourselves, those we support, and our colleagues aren’t selfish. They make care sustainable." #CompassionFatigue #HelpingProfessionals #Boundaries
Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Left in the dark, a potato will still grow towards the tiniest of light. Rogers saw this as a perfect metaphor for how humans move towards growth, no matter the circumstances. #KeepingRogersRelevant
A bowl of potatoes
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
💡 Vicarious trauma isn’t a personal failing. It’s a natural response to exposure to others’ trauma. Understanding it is key to protecting ourselves & sustaining this work. #VicariousTrauma #HelpingProfessionals #SelfCarePsychology
Vicarious trauma definitions
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Therapy isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. You’re not a textbook case—so why should therapy follow a formula? The relationship between therapist and client is what truly matters. Therapy should shape around you, not the other way around. #TherapyIs #PersonCentred #TherapistsConnect
One size does not fit all yalom quite
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
The ‘cost of caring’ doesn’t have to drain you. Compassion fatigue is real, but it’s not inevitable. 💛🌿 #CompassionFatigue #CharlesFigley
Compassion fatigue is the cost of caring
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Sometimes, when we’re in the heavy bits, a glimpse of lighter skies can be enough to keep going. Therapy can be like that—a space to hold the tough stuff while also holding onto hope. 💛 (Also, my granddaughter calls this railway bridge a cave, so it makes me laugh too!) #TherapyIs #Hope
Looking through a railway bridge to a lighter sky
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
The best resource helping professionals have? Each other. Connection is one of the strongest buffers against burnout, but peer support doesn’t just happen—it needs space to grow. Who’s in your support network? #PeerSupportMatters #WorkplaceWellbeing #BurnoutPrevention
Peer support is not a nia nice to have
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
🌱 Therapy is about hearing the heart, not just the words. It’s about tuning in—not just to what’s said, but what isn’t. A space to be heard, fully. #TherapyIs #Counselling #MentalHealth #TherapistsConnect #PersonCentred
Therapy is a lot heating the heart not just the words
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Compassion fatigue can hit suddenly, leaving us drained, cynical, and questioning our ability to care. It’s not burnout, but it is real—and protecting ourselves matters. Our Five Pillars of Protection help buffer the impact. Let’s talk about it. #CompassionFatigue #HelpingProfessionals
Compassion fatigue definition
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Training as a therapist isn’t just about learning theory and practice. It’s about self-awareness, reflection, and doing our own work. If we want to sit with others, we need to be willing to sit with ourselves first. #TherapyIs #CounsellingTraining #BecomingATherapist #TherapistsConnect
Holding space for trainees
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
💡 Burnout prevention isn’t just an indulgence. It’s an ethical imperative. 🛑 If helping professionals are exhausted, who benefits? 💬 Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s the foundation of ethical practice.
Preventing burnout is not an indulgence
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
I’m so proud of SVP! 💬 1,000 followers?! On instagram We’re not social media pros, but if this means more real talk about professional trauma and fatigue, we’re all in.
1000 followers
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
🔹 A full day of training with frontline staff across social care & education—exploring the risks, remedies, and rewards of front line helping professions. A challenging but energising day, filled with insight, connection & real talk. #SelfCarePsychology #HelpingProfessionals
Copy of training slide
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Coffee won’t fix moral distress. Neither will sweets (sadly). Moral distress isn’t a personal failing—it’s the cost of working in systems that don’t align with your values. Self-care alone won’t erase it, but collective care might. #SelfCarePsychology #MoralDistress #CollectiveCare
Another coffee isn’t going to fix kot distress
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
✨ Being truly heard can change everything. Maybe therapy isn’t about fixing things—maybe it’s about feeling heard enough to figure them out for yourself. #TherapyIs #PersonCentred #TherapistsConnect #MentalHealthMatters
Carl rogers quite on truly heard
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Helping professionals face more than just burnout. That’s why created a term, Professional Trauma and Fatigue—to capture the impact of compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, moral distress & more. Recognising it is the first step. #SelfCarePsychology #TraumaAwareness
Definition of professional trauma and fatigue
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
🛑 Therapy isn’t about being given all the answers. One of the first things I say to clients? I don’t have a magic wand. ✨ Therapy isn’t about fixing you—it’s about having the space to untangle what’s been feeling stuck and figure out what fits for you. #TherapyIs #SelfDiscovery #MentalHealthMatters
Therapy isn’t about having all of the answers it’s about having the space to explore the questions
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Feeling overwhelmed by training? You’re not alone in this. Take a moment to revisit who’s in your corner—peers, tutors, supervisors. Support is there. You don’t have to do it all alone. 🌿 #HoldingSpaceForStudents #FutureHelpers #YouAreNotAlone
Training is a journey
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
‘Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.’ – Audre Lorde Self-care isn’t about candles and bubble baths. It’s about resilience, sustainability, and being able to keep going. Let’s shift the conversation. #SelfCarePsychology #SelfCareIsPolitical #BeyondBubbleBaths
Audre Lorde quote
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Great to dust off the Five Pillars of Protection for today's 'Secondary Trauma: Supporting Managers to Support Staff' with Staffs CC. A helpful model for spotting where support is needed to buffer professional trauma & fatigue. Thanks for having us! #SecondaryTrauma #WorkplaceWellbeing
Professional trauma and fatigue model 5 pillars of protection
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A fabulous, thought-provoking morning delivering 'Secondary Trauma: Supporting Managers to Support Staff' with Staffordshire CC. Huge thanks for having us! #SelfCarePsychology #SecondaryTrauma #SupportingManagers #HelpingProfessionals #WorkplaceWellbeing
SELFCARE psychology logo
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Reposted by Sass Boucher MSc
Caz Binstead BA MA AdvDip PGDip @cazbinny.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Hello friends 😊 , JKP books asked me to share this with my network. They are especially aiming to reach out to people who haven’t been published before and who identify as being from an underrepresented group. events.teams.microsoft.com/event/83ae23... #TherapistsConnect #BlueskyTherapists
From Proposal to Publication: A Webinar on Mental Health Publishing for Jessica Kingsley Publishers Underrepresented Voices

05th February 2025, 7pm - 8pm 
(Online)
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
🏃‍♂️👟 These aren’t my running shoes. They belong to family who seem to have cracked something I haven’t. I know exercise is good for me. But doing it? That’s another story. Knowing and doing aren’t the same. Maybe self-compassion is the place to start. Is it just me 🙈 #TherapyIs #SelfCompassion
Two pairs of hoka running shoes
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
🌿 Therapy is about relationships, not resolutions. Carl Rogers said it best: “How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for their own personal growth?” #TherapyIs #MentalHealthMatters #Authenticity
Carl rogers quote
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
You can’t podcast your way out of vicarious trauma—but tuning out for a while might give you space to recharge.
Helping others is heavy work. Let’s keep the conversation going about what real support looks like. 💙
Self-care helps, but it’s not the whole answer. #SelfCareTruth #SecondaryTrauma
Graphic saying you can’t podcast your way out of vicarious trauma
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
You can find SelfCare Psychology over on insta. 🥰 #professionaltraumaandfatigue #SelfCarePsychology
A qr code for selfacre psychology
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
🌱 Therapy is a relationship where you can feel free to be yourself. No pressure, no perfect words. Just a space to explore who you are—and who you’re becoming. #TherapyIs #MentalHealthMatters #Authenticity
Therapy is a relationship where you can feel
Free to be yourself
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Winter reminder: Slow down and find your pause. 🔥
For me, it’s the log burner and a moment of stillness. Therapy works the same way—offering a space to reflect and reconnect with what matters.
What’s your favourite winter ritual? 🌱
#Blueskytherapists #TherapyIs #therapistsconnect
Log burner burning away with some logs next to it
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
In therapy, relationships are everything. It’s not about fixing; it’s about creating a space where someone feels seen, heard, and accepted just as they are. That’s where growth begins. What relationships in your life feel healing and real? #TherapyIs #PersonCentred #MentalHealthMatters
Irvin Yalom quote. It is the relationship that heals. The relationship the relationship the relationship
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Both BACP and the Counselling Directory. Enjoy your journey 😊
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Reposted by Sass Boucher MSc
Caz Binstead BA MA AdvDip PGDip @cazbinny.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
It’s #TherapistsConnect ‘s 5th birthday 🎂, & I’m happy to be the guest on our podcast in my own right 😊 . Lovely to chat to Dr Peter Blundell, & discuss my extensive work in private practice, & the book! therapistsconnect.buzzsprout.com/1091903/epis... Book: amzn.eu/d/jeh2nWq #Therapistsky
#TherapistsConnect Podcast Interview (a podcast for connecting therapists). Dr Peter Blundell interviews Caz Binstead about their work supporting therapists in private practice, and co-authoring the book ‘Relational Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counselling Private Practice’.

Poster also shows photos of Caz and Peter.
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
🌱 New Year, NO NEED for a New You! 🙏 Instead of chasing resolutions, what if the new year became a time to reconnect with who you already are? Therapy is about exploring the real you—not reinventing, but reflecting. #TherapyIs #MentalHealthMatters #PersonCentred
Therapy is a space to reflect on who we are not who we think we should be
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
It was a mint aero one 🥰
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Reposted by Sass Boucher MSc
Penny Sturt @supervisionmatters.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Welcome, noticed I have acquired many new contacts while I have had an extended break. Also returned to the good news that my publisher has a special offer on ebooks including mine - if interested in #Supervision in schools please use the link pavpub.com/educational-...
pavpub.com
Using Supervision in Schools: A Guide to Building Safe Cultures and Providing Emotional Support in a Range of Education Settings, 2nd Edition
Packed with up-to-date examples from real-life schools, this is an invaluable guide to how supervision can help teachers and other staff to feel safe, happy and challenged in their work, and to more e...
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
🎄 “Nobody is perfect.” (Because there’s no such thing!)
The holidays don’t need perfect meals, perfect gifts, or perfect people.
Therapy isn’t about being a perfect client either—it’s about showing up as you are.
💚 #TherapyIs #HolidayWellness #SelfAcceptance
Square saying ‘nobody is perfect because there’s no such thing
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
And to you too! 😊
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
There’s also something for me about hearing behind the words, hearing the heart of what is being communicated?
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
🌱 Therapy is a place where we are heard, even when we struggle to find the words. Sometimes, having someone truly listen helps us untangle feelings we didn’t even realise we had. #TherapyIs #TherapistsConnect
Therapy is a place where we are heard, even when we struggle to find the words
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Sass Boucher MSc @sassboucher.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
And you, I’m really enjoying this space, it feels kinder and more my pace 🌱
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