Alana McCraw, LPC

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor who is dedicated to creating safe spaces for individuals, groups, and families to do the work necessary to create meaningful changes in their lives. I enjoy supporting clients navigate varying issues including depression, symptoms of anxiety and chronic stress, life transitions, body image concerns, and trauma. I use a Person-Centered approach to connect with clients and meet them where they are. I have training in Therapeutic Yoga, Somatic Experiencing (entering Advanced Year), Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization Reprocessing).

I identify as someone who grew up on the Island of Misfit Toys because I've always "been different." I did not realize it at the time, but this was likely my empathic ability showing up in ways I just could not appreciate as a youngster. It did not help that I moved around a lot in a military family. As someone who has also spent time on their own mental health and overall wellness journey, I know what it is like to be different and the limitations (real and perceived) that this can create for individuals themselves and their relationships. There is something about being lost in what feels like an inescapable space and meeting the various hurt parts of yourself that feel like the world is against you or "you'll never be enough" and "there's just no way out." It was through my own therapeutic journey, graduate school for mental health counseling, and my own willingness to embrace being uncomfortable that I created meaningful changes that opened the way to a new reality.
I have always been someone who likes to "give back" and for me, therapy is one of the ways I can do that. There is a quote from Alice in Wonderland that says "When you can't look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark." I love this phrase because it suggests that life is sometimes dark and that having someone to just be on your side can be so powerful. I am here to be a support in the dark while clients learn the skills they need to understand their emotions and behaviors. Essentially, "you have to feel it, it heal it" but maybe emotions, physical sensations, or thoughts are just too overwhelming-- or maybe you've been taught that they are "wrong." Which just isn't the case! So we explore, process, and learn new ways to view and experience these things.