Seasons of Change: Embracing the Shifts Within and Around Us

By Rose Degenhardt, MA, RCT, CCC / Founder, Venture Counselling & Therapy Inc.

As I write this, the air has started to cool.  The evenings are darker.  Trees are whispering their next transformation as green begins to give way to amber, rust, and gold.  September always feels like a quiet exhale after the long, bright pulse of summer.

It reminds me: seasons are always changing—both in nature and within ourselves.

The Psychology of Seasonal Shifts

The transition into autumn affects more than just our wardrobe and daily routines.  Seasonal change often stirs emotional change, too.  Many people feel a rise in anxiety, grief, or even quiet introspection as fall approaches.  There’s a psychological invitation here—a subtle nudge inward.

In therapy, we often speak of life in seasons:

·       Seasons of growth

·       Seasons of grief

·       Seasons of uncertainty

·       Seasons of stillness

·       Seasons of rebuilding

The important thing to remember is: none of them are permanent.

Who We Are, Right Now

This fall, I’ve been reflecting on the many versions of myself that live inside me all at once.

I am the Founder of Venture Counselling & Therapy Inc.—a clinic born from vision, resilience, and years of showing up for others. I am a counsellor, holding space for the stories of others while tending gently to my own. I am a mother of adult sons, still learning how to love and support them as they step fully into their own lives. I am an Oma, soaking up the joy of grandmother-hood with every giggle, snuggle, and story from little Mara. I am a fiancé, preparing to marry a partner who sees me deeply and walks beside me fully.

Each of these roles is its own season.  And some days, it feels like I’m living them all at once.

A Season I Will Never Forget

There was one season of my life that still stands out as the most difficult I’ve ever walked through.

I was going through a separation and divorce, while attending school and raising three adolescent boys. There were days I felt like I was barely staying afloat—trying to manage the emotional weight of a dissolving marriage, while showing up for classes, homework, therapy placements, and three sons who were each processing the changes in their own ways.

It was messy.  Exhausting.  Isolating. I was grieving what I thought life would look like, while trying to keep our world from falling apart. I felt like I had to be strong, but inside, I was aching.

Looking back now, I realize that was my winter. Slowly—so slowly—I began to move into spring again.

My resilience didn’t look like perfection, It looked like getting out of bed. It looked like handing in an assignment. It looked like making dinner ,taking a deep breath instead of yelling, Asking for help.

Therapy as Seasonal Work

In counselling, we often meet people in their winters. In the barren, heavy, uncertain spaces. But part of our work is to walk with people as they find their spring again—as they come back to life.

Sometimes therapy is about planting seeds. Sometimes it’s about shedding what no longer fits. Sometimes it’s about learning how to sit still until clarity comes.

And sometimes, it’s about recognizing just how much you’ve already changed without even realizing it.

An Invitation for This Season

As the leaves change and routines return, I invite you to ask yourself:

·       What season am I in right now—personally, emotionally, spiritually?

·       What am I shedding?  What am I growing into?

·       What version of myself needs attention, nurturing, or rest?

You don’t have to rush through it. You don’t have to have the answers.

Just like the trees don’t resist the falling leaves, we too can learn to release with grace—and trust that something new is always on its way.

Final Thoughts

Seasons shift.  So do we.

You are allowed to evolve, to let go, to come back home to yourself over and over again.

Whether you’re in a season of joy or grief, of beginnings or endings—know that you are not alone.  You are not behind.  You are not broken.

You are becoming.

Walking beside you through every season,

Rose Degenhardt, MA, RCT, CCC

Founder & Therapist, Venture Counselling & Therapy Inc.