We Raise Them To Be Good Girls
by Stephanie McCrackenJanuary 8, 2015 counseling, feminist, mindfulness, personal growth, psychotherapy, wisdom0 comments
Little Girls in Dresses Like To Play In The Mud
We raise them to be good girls, to nod politely during fine conversation strung on during respectable hours with respectable people. We raise them to be pillars of hope, encouraging others in their struggles, we hug them and cradle them from the womb to teach them that they too should hug others, pearls of sweat always wiped away before becoming...
Learn MoreA New Year; A Blank Canvas
by Stephanie McCrackenDecember 31, 2014 counseling, mindfulness, new year 2015, personal growth, psychotherapy, resolutions, Uncategorized, wisdom0 comments
A New Year and A Blank Canvas
The infamous ball is approaching its apex, soon the confetti shall spill to the ground, the party music will envelops the night air, albeit briefly as the quiet is coming. Soon, our little nor’easter earth will become silent and still as the snow falls steadfastly ensuring the depths of our winter’s hibernation. Beneath all of this obligatory stillness our mind...
Learn MoreWe are the Believers; The Christmas Spirit
by Stephanie McCrackenDecember 1, 2014 counseling, holidays, mindfulness, personal growth, psychology, psychotherapy, wisdom0 comments
Christmas Spirit
Holidays offer a time to renew hope as we become enamored with the sparkle of the glimmeringly bedecked pines and spruces in all of their exalted luster. The fa,la,la,la of Christmas carols blaring on the radio while baking cookies, pies, and perhaps even a bit of gingerbread to share with loved ones and guests. It’s the time of year when I want to hug a little longer in...
Learn MoreHoliday Presents Unwrapped, Thoughts on Gifting by A Psychotherapist.
by Stephanie McCrackenNovember 25, 2014 counseling, holidays, mindfulness, personal growth, psychology, psychotherapy, wisdom0 comments
Oh its the holiday season and if you’re like me then you may have already started to take note of perfect present options for the people on Santa’s list. Some of us are extremely adept at choosing excellent and meaningful gifts for everyone on our list without even breaking the budget, understanding the person enough to project what they could enjoy or want is a skill. By the time...
Learn MorePerception and Encountering The True Self
by Stephanie McCrackenNovember 19, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, mindfulness, personal growth, psychology, psychotherapy, wisdom0 comments
Perception and Encountering The True Self
Perception is the realization of the effect that a vantage point has upon the quality and content of thought. There are sects of psychology which map out human consciousness, a design to thought and feeling. An ever complex diagram which points to the id, the ego, or in other realms the observing ego, and still others...
Learn MoreTurkey, Thanks & Boosting Holiday Joy
by Stephanie McCrackenNovember 11, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, couples therapy, holidays, marriage counseling, mindfulness, personal growth, psychotherapy0 comments
Holiday Togetherness and stress busting!
The holidays symbolize time to be close to those who we hold near and dear, the sentimental stuff of greeting cards, television series, and memories to be made. In later years we may recall the time that the snow fell 8 inches on Thanksgiving Day and Aunt Margaret perfected her best version yet of caramel apple pie, while baby Charlie was just learning...
Learn MoreAmidst Chaos and Wonder We Connect, On Love
by Stephanie McCrackenNovember 5, 2014 mindfulness, personal growth, psychotherapy, sexuality0 comments
Amidst Chaos and Wonder, We Connect
For my quiet inspiration
Often I have written with advice on how to encounter some of relationships and marriages challenges in such a way to bring back the harmony into love. Yet today I realize that not often enough do we reflect upon the playful ecstasy of those moments when love becomes palpable and we achieve treasured moments of connection. Perhaps...
Learn MoreSkeletons, Ghosts, and Halloween Costumes; The Inner Shadow
by Stephanie McCrackenOctober 27, 2014 costumes, counseling, halloween, holidays, mindfulness, psychology, psychotherapy, sexuality0 comments
Skeletons, Witches, and Ghosts, Costumes are more than just for fun.
It is that time of year, high autumn, with the emblazoned oranges cascading upon the tree lines, carved pumpkins checkering the streets and yards of American homes. All of the store isles, featuring costumes of frightening ghosts and skeletons. We venture out to enjoy the pumpkin patches, haunted houses, costume parties and...
Learn MoreShare Your Love, Revive Your Love, Photo Contest with Prizes!
by Stephanie McCrackenOctober 1, 2014 counseling, couples therapy, personal growth, psychotherapy0 comments
#Reviveyourlove
Of all of the things that we share on social media and otherwise, our successes, “I am so relieved! I finally graduated!” Our location “Strike, checking in at Hollywood lanes bowling alley come on down!” How inspiring to be virtually plugged, the possibility for connection in ways which can be meaningful and significant. The opportunity to influence, to brighten,...
Learn MoreTight Hugs I Like; A Psychotherapists Musings
by Stephanie McCrackenSeptember 23, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, mindfulness, psychology, psychotherapy0 comments
Tight Hugs I Like; A Psychotherapists Musings
Tight hugs we like
It could be risky to admit this but here it goes anyway, I judge people, in social settings I categorize to such a grand degree, some may say I can hardly help myself. You see, I rank people based on how they hug. When it comes to hugs, they are certainly not all the same. For example, my grandmother, she was a woman who knew...
Learn MoreSerenaded by Fire; Dancing with Anger- A Psychotherapist’s musings…
by Stephanie McCrackenSeptember 4, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, elephant journal, mindfulness, personal growth, psychotherapy, wisdom0 comments
Anger Management
As written by us and featured in Elephant Journal http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/09/serenaded-by-fire-dancing-with-anger-a-psychotherapists-musings-stephanie-mccracken/
Experiencing and acting upon anger, despite its steeping potentials, is often shrouded in uncertainty and even guilt or shame, causing many people to attempt its subterranean burial. Due to cultural and...
Learn More“How to work Through Guilt, a Psychotherapists Musings”
by Stephanie McCrackenAugust 26, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, elephant journal, marriage counseling, psychology, psychotherapy0 comments
Hope is the thing that floats
Written by us and as featured in Elephant Journal
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/09/how-to-work-through-guilt-a-psychotherapists-musings-stephanie-mccracken/
Guilt. Certainly we all know that haunting sensation.
Even the most conscientious and heroic among us will experience guilt from time to time.
Those living a socially mindful life often can’t escape the...
Learn MoreIntimacy; The Art of Distance- Musings from a Psychotherapist on Couples Counseling
by Stephanie McCrackenAugust 15, 2014 counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, psychotherapy0 comments
in·ti·ma·cy
/ˈɪntəməsi/ Show Spelled noun, plural in·ti·ma·cies.
1. The state of being intimate.
2. A close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving relationship with another person or group.
3. A close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject.
4. An act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like: to allow the intimacy...
Learn More“Birds and The Bees Redux; Sex Talk, A Psychotherapists Perspective”
by Stephanie McCrackenAugust 4, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, marriage counseling, psychology, psychotherapy, sexuality0 comments
“Birds and The Bees Redux; Sex therapy, Psycho-therapuetic perspective ”
Sexual Connection
Seduction, Eroticism, Arousal, Desire, Consent, Sex, Orgasm, Connection. How do you perceive those words? Are they lurid? Dirty? Enchanting? How intimately do you introspect upon your very own sensual conduct or is this a thought so frighteningly formidable that consideration is cast towards the shadows,...
Learn MoreLoving a Consciousness Demanding Woman-Thoughts about Couples and Therapy
by Stephanie McCrackenJuly 10, 2014 couples counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, psychotherapy0 comments
Stepping outside of yourself
Consciousness what? Scratching your head in preponderance of this striking terminology or perhaps you are yourself a woman considering the appropriateness of such a label for your very self? Has the world sometimes labeled you a tough cookie, or suggested that your exultant expectations are otherworldly? If you are a man who has known her you certainly will...
Learn MoreThe Sweet Song of the “Good Woman” Thoughts From a Marriage Counselor aka Couples Therapist
by Stephanie McCrackenJune 24, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, personal growth, psychotherapy, sexuality1 comment
The Sweet Song of the “Good Woman” Thoughts From a Marriage Counselor aka Couples Therapist
For those of us who are a part of a long term relationship, partnership, or marriage, there are endless competing demands, changing circumstances, ever evolving human structures, that constant flux of exchanging our time, attention, affection for the expectation that our partner will to attenuate...
Learn MoreShining Summer Solstice, Peaceful Gatherings and Personal Growth
by Stephanie McCrackenJune 20, 2014 counseling, personal growth, psychology, psychotherapy0 comments
The solar energy and entrance of summers dance beckons forth beads of perspiration and the cherry blossom glow if sun-kissed cheeks. It is time to celebrate the summer solstice and this year the earth has proffered abundantly with her flourishing landscape smiling faces pleased to be enjoying more of life outdoors. Moods seem to be heightened and Peaceburgh united in celebration of earth’s...
Learn MoreCouples Therapy, Talking The Talk-Loving Communication
by Stephanie McCrackenJune 18, 2014 counseling, couples counseling, couples therapy, marriage counseling, psychology0 comments
“To truly listen to another means that you are open to their ability to change you.” Anonymous
In working with married and long term couples, it is noticeable that those inevitable conflicts often spring from certain specific contexts and behaviors. While communication itself is a wellspring, influenced by depths of current which underlie its thrusting façade, the primary source of...
Learn More
