We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josephine Dolan-Dufourd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Josephine, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

The turning point didn’t come with success or celebration. It arrived quietly—through disappointment, and then, unexpectedly, through a deep shift.

After 17 years in public health in the UK, I moved to France with my young family and set up in independent practice. I poured years of energy into building an online project called The Wellbeing Atelier—creating thoughtful resources, courses, and workshops. But despite doing all the “right” things, it never truly took off. It always felt like swimming upstream.

It was disheartening. I questioned everything.

Then, in late 2023, I began a Peaceful Productivity Audit with Anne Rajoo. It held up a mirror I couldn’t ignore: I was trying to thrive in a space that didn’t feel like home. When Lent began, I stepped away from social media—initially as a reset, but I never returned.

In the quiet, I heard what I’d long known: my best work isn’t digital. It’s sensory, relational, grounded. Around that time, I was referred my first child client—a boy with autism and ADHD. I said yes. And something shifted.

That moment wasn’t a pivot—it was a return. A quiet dream realised. I began working in French, began welcoming children into my practice, and let go of the digital layers that no longer fit.

Today, The Wellbeing Atelier lives offline as a sensory-informed space within my occupational therapy work. I still offer my beloved meditation class and continue to work for others too, including a cancer charity and a Parkinson’s platform. My practice grows organically. My life is slower, more analogue, more present.

The lesson? Not everything is meant to fly. Some things are meant to root, to settle, to feel like home. Growth doesn’t always look like success. Sometimes, it looks like stillness.

Josephine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Josephine—a sensory-informed occupational therapist, meditation teacher, and gentle guide for those navigating the quieter edges of wellbeing. Originally from the UK, I worked in public health for 17 years before following a slower, more soul-aligned path. I now live in France with my young family, where life feels more seasonal, present, and beautifully analogue. That shift has changed everything—especially how I work.

My practice now rests in two lovingly tended spaces:

The Wellbeing Atelier – A sensory, creative, and relational space where I support emotional regulation and nervous system wellbeing, primarily with adults. It’s less a brand and more an ethos: grounded, gentle, and intentionally slow. The digital layers have been mostly set down, though one cherished offering remains—my online meditation class, a soft place to land for anyone seeking calm in a fast world.

Ergo Josephine – referring to my professional title being ergothérapeute here in France, this is the French side of my work, focused solely on children. Here, I offer registered occupational therapy services supporting children with sensory processing differences, autism, ADHD, emotional regulation challenges, and other developmental needs. Referrals come mostly by word of mouth—from families, schools, and local professionals. It’s deeply relational work, carried out in a way that feels safe, playful, and grounded.

My work is set apart not by what I do, but how I do it: slowly, relationally, with deep presence and great care. I don’t believe in rushing people through systems or ticking clinical boxes. I believe in warmth, beauty, and spaces that feel like exhaling. My therapy notes are handwritten. The space is calm. The kettle is often on.

I’m most proud of the spaces I’ve created—soft, sensory-informed, and safe. And I’m grateful every day to do work that feels deeply human.

For those seeking support:
If you’re looking for something polished and fast-paced, I may not be the right fit. But if you’re craving something more grounded, relational, and quietly transformative—you may feel at home here.

You can find me quietly at:
🌿 thewellbeingatelier.carrd.co
🧒 ergojosephine.carrd.co

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we moved to France, my twins were 5 years old and I was 8 months pregnant with our daughter. Nothing was familiar—not the systems, not the roads, not even the rhythm of daily life. I couldn’t yet drive, didn’t know how to register with the mairie, and had no real sense of how I’d work again in a place where everything operated differently.

But slowly—and often clumsily—I began to find my way. I learnt to drive in French (an achievement that felt far bigger than it sounds), navigated the complex systems around healthcare registration, childcare, and business setup, and began to gently establish myself in a completely new context.

There was no dramatic breakthrough moment, just a series of quiet decisions not to give up. Each time I felt like an outsider, I stayed curious. Each time I stumbled over words, I kept speaking. And eventually, I found myself licensed, in practice, and being trusted. Integrated within our local community and thriving as a family.

That, to me, is resilience. Not the big glossy wins—but the choice to stay soft while doing hard things.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the belief that hard work, care, and qualifications would naturally lead to success—and that if something wasn’t working, the answer was simply to work harder. For years, I kept pouring myself into The Wellbeing Atelier in its original form: beautiful offerings, deeply considered content, thoughtful resources. I did everything “right.” And yet… it never really gained traction.

Part of what made it so painful was the constant comparison. I saw others—some with far less experience or training—building visible, thriving businesses. They knew how to sell themselves. They were louder, slicker, more strategic. And I found myself getting quietly frustrated, and then ashamed of that frustration. I wasn’t envious of what they were offering—I was grieving the fact that my own work, though full of integrity, wasn’t landing in the way I hoped.

It took time to realise the deeper truth: just because something is well-made doesn’t mean it’s in the right form—or in the right place. And more importantly, my way was never going to look like theirs. I had to stop flogging myself to keep something going just because I’d invested so much into it. Letting go wasn’t giving up. It was an act of alignment. Of self-trust.

What I learned is this: sometimes walking away isn’t a failure—it’s the first step toward something more honest. And just because I wasn’t the loudest voice in the room doesn’t mean I didn’t have something important to say. I just had to find a quieter, truer way to say it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thewellbeingatelier.carrd.co
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewellbeingatelier
• Other: Insighttimer: https://insighttimer.com/thwellbeingatelier

Image Credits

All my own photos.