<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Integration Practice]]></title><description><![CDATA[Depth-oriented coaching for individuals and relational & cultural consulting for organisations. Bridging analytical rigour and relational depth.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:23:57 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[A container that can(not) hold me fully]]></title><description><![CDATA[Her reaction reminded me of holding a hot potato — she didn't know what to do with it, she tried to juggle it from one arm to the other, and then she passed it back to me — in the form of shame.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/container-holding-space-for-anger</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4ba0dcfa58f0a255d747cc</guid><category><![CDATA[The Practice]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_a09ce8da659949d3ab375b21deed9d32~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The space between apology and repair]]></title><description><![CDATA[He swapped me mid-dance without asking — and within the same song, owned it completely. What followed wasn't a clean resolution. It was something far more real.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/the-space-between-apology-and-repair</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3aedf38955009f722a331e</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_eef36f9e13344d7db8d61751ab5d75fd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shame. Guilt. Regret.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I saw myself in her — in the same instinct to deflect, to explain away, to protect against the unbearable thought of being a bad person. This is what I learned about the difference between shame, guilt, and the third option that changed everything.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/shame-guilt-regret</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3ae9bd8955009f722a2643</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_db62e77656794104926f9104b2bcabb9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_836,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tears]]></title><description><![CDATA[Tears are a normal reaction and an effective way to regulate. But how they are handled can produce two very different outcomes — depending on where they land, and whose emotional labour they require.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/tears-emotional-labour</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4d36bd6c303678bb7475f0</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_be91dfdfb4f04efe908b58e3c5c41a19~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A bystander in my own harm]]></title><description><![CDATA[She was crying about what she'd said to me. I noticed the pull to comfort her — and this time, I stayed with what was present for me instead. What followed was a slow unravelling of my own certainty, and a repair that never quite arrived for me at all.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/a-bystander-in-my-own-harm-deflecting-accountability</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3ae2c7263bf45c8a515094</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_eb14611bab6545c19854247701184cab~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[We kept our side of the deal]]></title><description><![CDATA[We were told: work hard, uphold the system, and you'll be rewarded. We did. The reward never came. This is what happens when patriarchy's promise breaks.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/we-kept-our-side-of-the-deal-patriarchy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a274e58579005354a9ce5fc</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><category><![CDATA[The System]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_2e270fa76e5c431cb4ef9dd8dec51fc8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Equal in numbers. Is counting what counts?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Equal in numbers. But not on the board. Not in decision-making rooms. Is counting really the same as equality?]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/equal-in-numbers-is-counting-what-counts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a26fae1ad800e05181b9aca</guid><category><![CDATA[The System]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_2ff17ebf26194f59944d01f13c909660~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[She offered the anaesthetic anyway — what attunement feels like]]></title><description><![CDATA[She never once complained about my paranoid messages. Never once rolled her eyes. Never once sighed. And when the tooth was already dead, she offered the anaesthetic anyway — because my peace of mind mattered.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/she-offered-the-anaesthetic-anyway-what-attunement-feels-like</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a31b6cf6e3aac0bcf9bfb99</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_1543c16bfa724e248e3771955be5c910~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA['Have you thought about why you are a match to this experience?']]></title><description><![CDATA['Have you thought about why you are a match to this experience?' This question so elegantly places the responsibility for someone else's actions back on you that it almost sounds like an insight.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/have-you-thought-about-why-you-are-a-match-to-this-experience</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a26f95c7af0f733569890db</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_0c2d8f6eeb3c48529885bcf15aaace81~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[She is the chair of the complaint committee ]]></title><description><![CDATA[She reviewed her own complaint. When the system designed to protect you is run by the people who harmed you.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/she-is-the-chair-of-the-complaint-committee</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a26f7a9bcf454bfefdb9bb5</guid><category><![CDATA[The System]]></category><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_af67a33e1a5e4ce492ae02301ca65ba6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[‘Don't make her angry. Don't upset her.’]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the dentist's chair, my body made a decision before I did. Don't make her angry. Don't upset her. This is what the nervous system does when there's no safe way out.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/dont-make-her-angry-nervous-system</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a26f4947206e69ccb3ae35f</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_5594fd67006e49ae929a9359c57a8bc7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The exhaustion of being told to be braver in a system that punishes bravery]]></title><description><![CDATA[Empowering someone to be brave in a system that punishes bravery doesn't liberate — it just relocates the responsibility.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/the-exhaustion-of-being-told-to-be-braver-in-a-system-that-punishes-bravery</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a208378b63f5fb828ec7372</guid><category><![CDATA[The System]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_cd57f8ca161a4adda636bbbdc4ad91b3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What structural engineering showed me about the patterns we carry]]></title><description><![CDATA[We assume rust is damage. Sometimes it's protection. What structural engineering showed me about the patterns we carry — and why understanding them matters more than fixing them.]]></description><link>https://www.integrationpractice.co.uk/post/what-structural-engineering-showed-me-about-the-patterns-we-carry</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0c96cb9209fbd4f4ef4844</guid><category><![CDATA[The Individual]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 21:11:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7273da_3a5f081db5d64dd295c32efbed366fce~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Boryana Valeva</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>