Stephanie Burton, MA, MSEd, LMHCA

01/11/2025

💚

The grieving process can look very different for each person. Some may express their feelings openly, while others might be more reserved. It’s important to meet people where they are and allow them to grieve in their own way, even if it doesn’t match our expectations. This can feel challenging because grief doesn’t follow a clear timeline, and people might appear to move on while still carrying deep pain. The goal is to provide compassionate support by listening, being patient, and respecting their needs, whatever that looks like. Offering support without judgment or pressure helps them feel seen and understood, no matter where they are in their healing.

It’s also important to recognize that grief is not limited to death and dying; it encompasses loss in all its forms. Beyond the physical, there’s also the emotional toll that loss brings - the loss of security, community, and a sense of normalcy. Recognizing the broader scope of grief helps us validate the complex emotions people experience with all types of loss. Not only death.

01/11/2025

💚

01/10/2025

The image of a broken vase came to mind when I heard this quote while watching “Brewster Place” on Tubi.
When transporting a cracked vase, or damaged valuable piece of hardware to be restored, one might put it in a towel or blanket to insulate and protect it from further damage in transit.

What if we wrapped our hearts up in a figurative blanket and insulated them the same way that we insulate the cracked vase, when they’re broken? Some of us usually build walls around our hearts when they’re broken, making it hard to trust or love again. The thing about blankets, though, is that they provide protection without creating isolation.

Our “blanket” can take many forms…faith, family, friends, time, music, creativity or even therapy. You get to choose. 🫶🏾💚

01/09/2025

Believe in yourself.
Don’t psych yourself out.
Trust the knowledge, wisdom, tools and resources you’ve attained to get to this point, to help you get to the next. 💚🫶🏾

01/06/2025

Accountability is a key trait that reflects responsibility, integrity and self-awareness.

01/03/2025

💚

01/02/2025

Challenging times often cause us to meet at the crossroads of anxiety vs. trust. It’s not always easy to lean to the side of trust, but it is necessary to help us navigate life’s battles. 🫶🏾💚

*NOTE: This does not mean we don’t plan as much as necessary, or that we aren’t wise in our decision making. It just means we know life throws us curveballs even when we have things in order, and it’s in those times that we lean on the people, places and things God gives us.

12/18/2024

Dear Courageous Healing friends, we will be closed from December 23, 2024 to January 3, 2025. Here’s some important information:

Queridos amigos de Courageous Healing, estaremos cerrados del 23 de diciembre de 2024 al 3 de enero de 2025. Aquí hay información importante:

👉🏾 If you would like to sign up for therapy, please schedule an intake appointment on the "Get Started" page on our website: courageoushealing.org/getstarted.

Si desea inscribirse para terapia, programe una cita de admisión en la página "Comenzar" de nuestro sitio web: courageoushealing.org/getstarted.

👉🏾 If you need to contact your therapist or have an appointment scheduled, please reach out to your therapist individually.

Si necesita comunicarse con su terapeuta o tiene una cita programada, comuníquese con su terapeuta individualmente.

👉🏾 If you have an emergency, please call the after-hours crisis line at 800-284-8439 or text/call 988.

Si tiene una emergencia, llame a la línea de crisis fuera del horario de atención al 800-284-8439 o envíe un mensaje de texto o llame al 988.

Happy holidays and take good care of yourselves!

¡Felices vacaciones y cuídense mucho!

12/17/2024

Something I have started encouraging my clients to do, is to implement “No Hats Time.”

We often wear a lot of hats, and we’re pulled in several directions at once - our partners, children, job, friends, parents and other family members, church, community…so many obligations, that it can become easy to overlook our biggest priority, which is taking care of ourselves. After-all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t fully and efficiently show up, and care for the people we love.

“No Hats Time” is intentional time spent checking in with ourselves, with no distractions, and either asking for what we need, or doing nothing at all that involves another person, or that requires us to put on one of our many hats. It’s about rest and self-preservation.

Indicators that “No Hats Time” is needed might be, being irritable or short with your partner and children, being overly forgetful, critical, noticing a dip in your self-care routine (or not having one at all).

Be a fierce advocate for your “No Hats Time.” Remember YOU matter…and those that matter most to you shouldn’t take issue with taking your hats off for a while. Rest, fam. Rest. 💚🫶🏾

12/12/2024

Something that comes up in therapy often is when clients share with me that they intentionally avoid having hard conversations because they don’t want to make their partner upset, and they fear conflict means the relationship will end.

When we pull back the layers a bit, we might discover this fear of conflict is rooted in the trauma of seeing their parents argue, and not manage conflict in a healthy way. It may also stem from deep abandonment attachment wounds created in childhood, or previous romantic relationships. When someone with abandonment attachment wounds experiences an argument with their partner, it may trigger feelings of fear that their partner might leave them. It may literally feel like their world is ending. They may ask for extra reassurance, and may take disagreement personally, due to perceiving the disagreement as criticism.

Conflict is not a guaranteed indicator of the end of a relationship. If that were the case, there would be no coupled people at all. Conflict occurs in even the healthiest of relationships. It’s just “how” you navigate the conflict that makes all the difference. For example, using “I statements,” listening to understand vs. respond without interruption, and avoiding disrespectful and harmful language or tone. Also, being intentional about apologies and repairs to the relationship through changed behavior.

It’s important for both partners to be committed to open, honest and clear communication to foster a sense of safety and security in the relationship, even in moments of conflict. Couple’s therapy can be very helpful in teaching couples how to improve their communication.

12/10/2024

Music has healing powers. It’s one of my personal go-to mediums for feeling my way through things. I live for creating a good themed playlist. Today, I’m sharing a few of my favorite encouraging and comforting soulful songs from a playlist I created during grad school called, “Beautiful Dreamer: Healing through Music.” Hope you check them out, and that they feel good to you.

I’m sharing 36 songs out the 146 that are on my original playlist. It was hard to choose my favorite favorites lol. 💚🫶🏾

12/09/2024

Coloring is one of my favorite pastimes. Coloring allows me to tap into my creativity, connect with my inner child, and to focus on something, intentionally, as a healthy distraction from screens and other peace stealers. It gives me a colorful reason to slow down and chill. I also love the gradual gratification and watching the magic unfold on paper.

12/08/2024

💚

Ever feel like helping someone starts to feel more like an obligation than a choice?

This chart breaks down the difference between codependent ‘helping’ and healthy support, showing how boundaries and mutual respect can make all the difference.

12/08/2024

💚

“When choosing a long-term partner, you will inevitably be choosing a particular set of unsolvable problems that you’ll be grappling with for the next ten, twenty or fifty years.” —Dr. Dan Wile

According to research by foremost relationship therapists and researchers, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, 69% of relational conflict is perpetual, not solvable. That means the conflict is rooted in ongoing differences between partners (e.g., personality, preferences).

Some people find this statistic to be disheartening or alarming. I actually find it to be comforting. It means that no matter who you’re in partnership with, there will likely be conflict. It’s not the presence of conflict that’s necessarily a problem. It’s whether the particular perpetual conflict you deal with is something you can manage and negotiate long-term.

Based on this research, the goal is not to solve all conflict. The goal is to better navigate conflict with respect and kindness.

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes and doesn’t constitute therapy. Posts are generalized and may not fit all individuals or situations. I don’t specialize in abusive relationships, therefore my content doesn’t speak to those circumstances.

12/07/2024

One of my goals as a parent who also happens to be a therapist, is teaching emotional awareness at an early age.

This book is AWESOME! It’s become a bedtime favorite in our home, and has even taught my 2 year-old the beauty of taking deep breaths.

“My Mind is a Mountain” helps children identify their emotions, as well as healthy ways to address them. I especially love the fact the main character is a Black boy. A new generation of Black boys are growing up in a world that is working toward helping them assert their humanity, part of which includes the fullness of their emotions, and not being taught to avoid them, or that emotions are for girls. From happy, excited, mad and sad, I highly recommend this book.

I needed books like this when I was a child.

Plus, it’s in English AND includes Spanish translation!! 💚🫶🏾

12/06/2024

Emotional avoidance is the intentional suppression of, and distraction from unwanted emotions.

When we avoid our unwanted emotions, they don’t just disappear. Like energy, I believe unchecked emotions are transferable from one thing to the next. There are several ways emotional avoidance may manifest itself, including...

12/05/2024

The hustle and bustle of the holidays can make us feel overwhelmed. If when looking at our “To Do” list, we feel anxious, it’s important to remind ourselves, we can’t do everything. And that’s ok. 💚🫶🏾