ABOUT
At Blooming Life Institute, we take a holistic and compassionate approach to personal wellness. We recognize that loss, whether visible or invisible, shapes our development and sense of self across the lifespan. Our work centers on helping individuals navigate these changes with greater insight, meaning, and connection.
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Through counseling, clinical supervision, consultation, workshops, and educational trainings, we offer a framework that supports self-understanding and healing beyond loss. Whether you are a counselor-in-training, a professional seeking advanced specialized expertise, or someone on a personal journey, our approach integrates deep psychological insight with authentic, human-centered care.
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We believe each person carries a unique and inherent potential. Our mission is to help you nurture that potential so you can grow with purpose, reconnect with your inner wisdom, and live life in bloom.
TEAM
Katie Atkins earned a PhD in counselor education and supervision and a master’s degree in counseling, both from Northern Illinois University, and a BA in psychology from Roosevelt University. She is a licensed professional counselor, nationally certified counselor, and approved clinical supervisor, and she holds a professional educator license in school counseling. She is a certified advanced grief counseling specialist.
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Her interests include grief and loss and is co-writing a book on a new developmental model of the grief and loss process. She also has an expertise in military advocacy; counseling military service personnel, veterans, and military-connected children and families; telemental health; trauma-informed care; threat assessment model implementation; cultural immersion and study abroad opportunities; international counseling; social constructivist approaches to counseling; teaching and supervision; and school counselors and supervision.
She received the 2016 School Counselor Educator of the Year Award from the Illinois School Counseling Association, the 2015 Outstanding Women Student Award from Northern Illinois University, and and ACES Outstanding Teaching Award (2023).
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When she’s not teaching or writing, you may find her traveling, playing with her young daughter, and spending time with her family,
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Sonya Lorelle is a licensed clinical professional counselor, registered play therapist-supervisor, and counseling professor with a deep passion for human development, healing, and creative expression. She earned her PhD in Counselor Education from Old Dominion University and her MS in Counseling from Missouri State University.
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With over 25 years of experience in clinical and academic settings, Sonya specializes in grief and loss, play therapy, clinical supervision, and integrating neuroscience into the counseling process. She is the co-developer of the Transcending Model of Loss, a developmental, lifelong approach to understanding grief in all its forms, including invisible losses like identity shifts, divorce, and estrangement.
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Sonya’s work has taken her beyond the classroom and therapy room into communities around the globe. She has trained counselors and provided services in Bhutan, India, and Thailand, supporting the international development of mental health services with care and cultural humility.
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Her contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Counselor Educator of the Year Award from the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling in Illinois, and national teaching awards from NCACES and ACES.
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When she’s not teaching or writing, you may find her playing board games, camping, reading sci-fi, or traveling overseas. A creative at heart, Sonya also brings her love of music into her work. Her album, Into the Wild, explores themes of grief and personal transformation.
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