Karen (they/them)
@karenpollock.bsky.social
white, queer, non binary, autistic, working class psychotherapist, supervisor, writer and geek.
"But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass"
counsellinginnorthumberland.com
header shows the Northern Lights
"But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass"
counsellinginnorthumberland.com
header shows the Northern Lights
Pinned
Authentic Self-Care: Beyond Capitalism’s Promises
I talk a lot about self care, not commodified "spend this money to somehow magically make everything better" self care as promoted by capitalism. Instead the self care which gives us time and space to check in with ourselves and ask - what do I need and how do I meet that need. Self care can totally mean bubble baths and chocolate, but it can also mean saying no, cutting contact, putting aside a project, changing plans, boundaries and protections.
counsellinginnorthumberland.com
Just why did I start a podcast about mental health and tolkien? Some thoughts on my podcast -Go Not To the ELves for Counsel #AureEntuluva #SelfCare
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
Tolkien bluesky! 🧝🏼♀️✨ With the holiday shopping season coming up, let’s get a thread of community/fan merch suggestions going! Could you share some of your favorites?
And if you’re an artist in the fandom, please feel free to share your store or commissions info!
And if you’re an artist in the fandom, please feel free to share your store or commissions info!
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Tolkien bluesky! 🧝🏼♀️✨ With the holiday shopping season coming up, let’s get a thread of community/fan merch suggestions going! Could you share some of your favorites?
And if you’re an artist in the fandom, please feel free to share your store or commissions info!
And if you’re an artist in the fandom, please feel free to share your store or commissions info!
Your reminder, for those who need it, that behaviour does not confer identity
November 21, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Your reminder, for those who need it, that behaviour does not confer identity
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
"Some parents shared deeply distressing accounts of what they have heard about the services, including stories of patients as young as 11 being continually asked about their genitals and sex life."
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Parents say: “They are killing our children”
Parents cry out in despair for their children at the NHS Sussex investigation into WellBN's prescription of gender dysphoria medication
share.google
November 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
"Some parents shared deeply distressing accounts of what they have heard about the services, including stories of patients as young as 11 being continually asked about their genitals and sex life."
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
When we labelled Wes Streeting a "CHILD KILLER" we weren't exaggerating.
Parents agree: since Streeting's blockers ban, NHS Sussex has been abusing and killing children.
Thank you to @sophiemolly.co.uk for this harrowing report.
xoxo BASH BACK
Parents agree: since Streeting's blockers ban, NHS Sussex has been abusing and killing children.
Thank you to @sophiemolly.co.uk for this harrowing report.
xoxo BASH BACK
"Some parents shared deeply distressing accounts of what they have heard about the services, including stories of patients as young as 11 being continually asked about their genitals and sex life."
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Parents say: “They are killing our children” share.google/zAlvx2QNLX1a...
Parents say: “They are killing our children”
Parents cry out in despair for their children at the NHS Sussex investigation into WellBN's prescription of gender dysphoria medication
share.google
November 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
When we labelled Wes Streeting a "CHILD KILLER" we weren't exaggerating.
Parents agree: since Streeting's blockers ban, NHS Sussex has been abusing and killing children.
Thank you to @sophiemolly.co.uk for this harrowing report.
xoxo BASH BACK
Parents agree: since Streeting's blockers ban, NHS Sussex has been abusing and killing children.
Thank you to @sophiemolly.co.uk for this harrowing report.
xoxo BASH BACK
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
On this 18th day of #AlaskaNativeHeritageMonth we’re celebrating #Tlingit scholars Nora Marks Dauenhauer’s “Life Woven With Song.”
#nativeamericanheritagemonth #books #booksky #writer #indigenous #alaskanative #alaska #nativeamerican #indiegnousart #poetry #poem
verastarbard.com/2025/11/18/t...
#nativeamericanheritagemonth #books #booksky #writer #indigenous #alaskanative #alaska #nativeamerican #indiegnousart #poetry #poem
verastarbard.com/2025/11/18/t...
Thirty Days of Alaska Native Books: Day 18
On this eighteenth day of Alaska Native Heritage Month, we’re celebrating “Life Woven With Song” by Tlingit scholar Nora Marks Dauenhauer. It’s a beautiful collection of poems, plays, and stories. …
verastarbard.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:12 PM
On this 18th day of #AlaskaNativeHeritageMonth we’re celebrating #Tlingit scholars Nora Marks Dauenhauer’s “Life Woven With Song.”
#nativeamericanheritagemonth #books #booksky #writer #indigenous #alaskanative #alaska #nativeamerican #indiegnousart #poetry #poem
verastarbard.com/2025/11/18/t...
#nativeamericanheritagemonth #books #booksky #writer #indigenous #alaskanative #alaska #nativeamerican #indiegnousart #poetry #poem
verastarbard.com/2025/11/18/t...
first snow of the year, just a dusting but so pretty
November 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
first snow of the year, just a dusting but so pretty
in the run up to #tdor this year, as every year, remember that the overwhelming majority of those killed are sex working women of colour
Every death is a tragedy but changing the number of names is about tackling intersections around race and sex work which impact the most vulnerable trans women
Every death is a tragedy but changing the number of names is about tackling intersections around race and sex work which impact the most vulnerable trans women
November 18, 2025 at 7:32 AM
in the run up to #tdor this year, as every year, remember that the overwhelming majority of those killed are sex working women of colour
Every death is a tragedy but changing the number of names is about tackling intersections around race and sex work which impact the most vulnerable trans women
Every death is a tragedy but changing the number of names is about tackling intersections around race and sex work which impact the most vulnerable trans women
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
Another push for donations of you can
So many small, local, independent shops and businesses have been devastated in the run up to Christmas.
So many small, local, independent shops and businesses have been devastated in the run up to Christmas.
You can help recovery by donating to the crowdfunded set up by the mayor and council
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Another push for donations of you can
So many small, local, independent shops and businesses have been devastated in the run up to Christmas.
So many small, local, independent shops and businesses have been devastated in the run up to Christmas.
The lady at the charity shop said it would be good if people donated their old toys before Christmas for families who were struggling
I said charity is a cold and loveless thing* and a revolution so no family was giving other people's cast offs on Christmas day would be a good thing
*clement atlee
I said charity is a cold and loveless thing* and a revolution so no family was giving other people's cast offs on Christmas day would be a good thing
*clement atlee
November 17, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The lady at the charity shop said it would be good if people donated their old toys before Christmas for families who were struggling
I said charity is a cold and loveless thing* and a revolution so no family was giving other people's cast offs on Christmas day would be a good thing
*clement atlee
I said charity is a cold and loveless thing* and a revolution so no family was giving other people's cast offs on Christmas day would be a good thing
*clement atlee
every single employer and sports organisation who jumped at being anti lgbtq now also needs to be taken to court looking at you @britishcycling.org.uk
Under pressure from Europe, court cases and MPs, EHRC withdraws transphobic 'interim update' calling for segregation of Trans+ people
https://www.wearequeeraf.com/ehrc-withdraws-transphobic-interim-opinion-on-supreme-court-ruling-and-demands-ministers-act-at-speed-to-publish-new-statutory-guidance/
https://www.wearequeeraf.com/ehrc-withdraws-transphobic-interim-opinion-on-supreme-court-ruling-and-demands-ministers-act-at-speed-to-publish-new-statutory-guidance/
EHRC withdraws transphobic interim opinion on Supreme Court ruling
The equalities watchdog's move came in an eventful week for British trans rights
www.wearequeeraf.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 AM
every single employer and sports organisation who jumped at being anti lgbtq now also needs to be taken to court looking at you @britishcycling.org.uk
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
I’m still struggling with the fact that ICE “brown shirts” went to a taco shop and thought they would get served.
F that!
F that!
November 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I’m still struggling with the fact that ICE “brown shirts” went to a taco shop and thought they would get served.
F that!
F that!
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
What have you done for your own wellbeing today? Moments of self-care don't have to be big things, they can be little things like taking a 5 minute break for a cup of tea and a sit down.
Take a look at TransActual's Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub: transactual.org.uk/wellbeing/
#Wellbeing
Take a look at TransActual's Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub: transactual.org.uk/wellbeing/
#Wellbeing
November 16, 2025 at 12:01 PM
What have you done for your own wellbeing today? Moments of self-care don't have to be big things, they can be little things like taking a 5 minute break for a cup of tea and a sit down.
Take a look at TransActual's Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub: transactual.org.uk/wellbeing/
#Wellbeing
Take a look at TransActual's Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub: transactual.org.uk/wellbeing/
#Wellbeing
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 AM
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
Tom beat me to it! I'm thrilled this is out in the world 🎉 It's my first publication in a book, so I'm feeling very sentimental about it all. This is Sauron as biblical femme fatale paper. The VOD is still live, I think, but if you want to read the more polished version in print... you now can! 👁
Another new publication! Thrilled to receive my contributor copy of Númenor, the Frail and Mighty reach print, also featuring @clarelmoore.bsky.social, @mercuryreads.bsky.social, @aranelparmadil.bsky.social, @putriprihatini.bsky.social, and more. Mazel Tov to editor @willsherwood.bsky.social too!
November 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Tom beat me to it! I'm thrilled this is out in the world 🎉 It's my first publication in a book, so I'm feeling very sentimental about it all. This is Sauron as biblical femme fatale paper. The VOD is still live, I think, but if you want to read the more polished version in print... you now can! 👁
latest podcast episode The importance of hope in lotr and therapy open.spotify.com/episode/6rzr... #lotr #lordoftherings #tolkien
Hope
open.spotify.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
latest podcast episode The importance of hope in lotr and therapy open.spotify.com/episode/6rzr... #lotr #lordoftherings #tolkien
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
Instead of following the tripe about whether #WesStreeting is on manouvres, read this important Guardian article about some of the people whose rights have been consistently ignored and over-ridden by the capture of the political establishment by #transphobia www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘I don’t want anyone to suffer like I did’: the intersex campaigners fighting to limit surgery on children
What should be done about the small proportion of babies born with genitals that are neither typically male nor typically female? Many of those affected believe parents and doctors are often too quick...
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Instead of following the tripe about whether #WesStreeting is on manouvres, read this important Guardian article about some of the people whose rights have been consistently ignored and over-ridden by the capture of the political establishment by #transphobia www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
sunset in autumn is a magical time #Northumberland
November 12, 2025 at 4:23 PM
sunset in autumn is a magical time #Northumberland
Amazing opportunity to access @pinktherapy.bsky.social training with a discount this winter - including my working with sex workers unit pink-therapy-training.teachable.com?fbclid=IwdGR... #lgbtq #sexworkiswork #therapysky #therapistsconnect
Homepage
pink-therapy-training.teachable.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Amazing opportunity to access @pinktherapy.bsky.social training with a discount this winter - including my working with sex workers unit pink-therapy-training.teachable.com?fbclid=IwdGR... #lgbtq #sexworkiswork #therapysky #therapistsconnect
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’
NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’
Black and Asian staff left feeling ‘deliberately intimidated’, according to chief executive of one NHS trust
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 AM
NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’
A new blog post on stages of development, compulsory hetrosexuality and one very famous elven princess counsellinginnorthumberland.com/2025/11/10/m...
More Than a Wife: Understanding Arwen’s True ‘Doom’
As some of you already know this year I began a podcast as an act of self care, hope seeking, and from a belief that we need to be lights shining in the darkness, as fascism and hate rise around us…
counsellinginnorthumberland.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:44 PM
A new blog post on stages of development, compulsory hetrosexuality and one very famous elven princess counsellinginnorthumberland.com/2025/11/10/m...
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
Please use this to email your MP asking to scrap the bathroom ban
actionnetwork.org/letters/scra...
actionnetwork.org/letters/scra...
Scrap the Bathroom Ban
🚨This is urgent🚨
Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities, has a decision to make. The EHRC, a regulator mired in controversy over anti-trans views, has sent a new draft Code of Prac...
actionnetwork.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Please use this to email your MP asking to scrap the bathroom ban
actionnetwork.org/letters/scra...
actionnetwork.org/letters/scra...
I dont often say "read the comments" but there are really good discussions here of why Amercian customer service staff are expected to do fake smiles (something which feels wierd to me and which I am sure is linked to the American femme 'podcaster giggle')
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:48 AM
I dont often say "read the comments" but there are really good discussions here of why Amercian customer service staff are expected to do fake smiles (something which feels wierd to me and which I am sure is linked to the American femme 'podcaster giggle')
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n... Fascinating read and useful reminder of how so many of the accusations of those captured by angry far right propaganda are actually projections
‘They’re not wolves – they’re sheep’: the psychiatrist who spent decades meeting and studying lone-actor mass killers
Paul E Mullen has had a front-row seat to the men behind some of the worst public massacres. He says it’s possible to ‘disrupt the script’ for future violence
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:44 AM
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n... Fascinating read and useful reminder of how so many of the accusations of those captured by angry far right propaganda are actually projections
Reposted by Karen (they/them)
I got tired of reading this fake statistic that strangulation during sex was the "second leading cause of stroke in young women".
It's not.
medium.com/@nicole.prau...
It's not.
medium.com/@nicole.prau...
Is “strangulation” really the second cause of stroke in young women?
Here we go again
medium.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:49 AM
I got tired of reading this fake statistic that strangulation during sex was the "second leading cause of stroke in young women".
It's not.
medium.com/@nicole.prau...
It's not.
medium.com/@nicole.prau...