James McCracken, LCSW, PLLC
  • Home
  • Services
    • Couples Therapy | Marriage Counseling
    • Family Therapy
    • Individual Psychotherapy
    • Supervision/Consultation >
      • EFT Supervision
      • Level Up Group for EFT Supervisors
      • EFT Supervision of Supervision
      • Clinical Social Work Supervision
    • Online Therapy
  • Specialties
    • Emotionally Focused Therapy
    • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
    • Discernment Counseling
    • Intimacy and Sex Problems
    • Couple and Marital Distress
    • Premarital Assessment & Counseling
    • Affair Recovery
    • Family Conflict between Parents and Adult Children
  • About
    • About James
    • Therapy Approach
    • Philosophy of Supervision
    • Associate Practitioners
    • Practice Policies, Fee, & Insurance
    • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Client Resources
    • Client Portal
    • Additional Helpful Resources
    • Consent for Release of Information

My Approach To Therapy

I am accessible, responsive, and engaging, meaning I won't just sit and stare at you, leaving you to feel alone in the room.  Rather, I am a present, active part of meetings, sometimes gently leading, sometimes following, and always collaborating. I bring compassion, curiosity, and warm authenticity to the work of therapy, which helps my clients establish trust and safety, get in touch with all parts of themselves, and learn how to get their needs met. I know that our lives and our relationships can make sense, and they can come back from dark and desperate places when we are given what we need. When we receive emotional support that is validating and reflective, healing and growth naturally occur. I welcome all people equally. I want you to come as you are no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, or how you soothe yourself.

In addition to the clinical training I completed at the New York University School of Social Work, through Certification training and supervision in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and over 15 years of experience in direct practice, I have continued post-graduate training in a variety of evidence-based approaches to psychotherapy, which inform my client-centered style. In industry-lingo, I am:
  • relational - working with the real and imagined relationship between therapist and client in a nurturing way 
  • experiential - privileging moment-by-moment experience in session rather than on what's outside the room
  • emotion-focused - making sense of cues, feelings, physiological response, thoughts, and action tendencies
  • systemic - focusing on the larger context of our individual behaviors and how we internalize our environment
  • attachment-based - understanding of the importance of secure relationships with caregivers and spouses
  • self determination-informed - inclusive of autonomy and competence needs in addition to relationships
  • healing-oriented - starting from understanding the underlying psychological phenomenon to behavior as signals to natural righting tendencies held core within the body: we do everything we do for a reason that aims for health
  • dialogically-informed - tolerant of uncertainty and "figuring it out" together
  • sex-positive, body-positive, LGBQ-TGNC affirming, Anti-racist, kink-friendly
I have found myself most at home with Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), integrative/unifying and empirically supported treatments for interpersonal/relationship distress and mental health problems. I have earned certification as an Emotionally Focused Therapist and Supervisor, and continue to engage in advanced professional study, supervision, and training through formal ICEEFT approved activities, and am a Level 3 AEDP Practitioner working towards Certification. EFT offers couples, families and individuals a scientifically-supported therapy / counseling experience that can predictably reach the core of our common emotional and relationship problems and needs, and AEDP offers individuals additional depth and support towards healing and growth.


In addition to EFT certification and ongoing training, and extensive AEDP training and supervision, I have also studied and integrate (where compatible) perspectives and interventions from other models of psychotherapy and couple/family therapy that I have received a mixture of study, supervision, and training in.  These include:
  • Functional Analytic Psychotherapy
  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 2)
  • Discernment Counseling (Certified through Doherty Institute)
  • Systemic and Integrative Sex Therapy (AASECT approved)
  • Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT)
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Short-term, Experiential and Relational Psychodynamic Therapies (i.e. ISTDP, APT)
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT)
  • Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
  • Solution-Focused Therapy
  • Dialogic Practice (related to "Open Dialogue")

​I am endlessly interested in a wide variety of theories about human life, love, health and approaches to healing and growth. I see personal and professional development as an ongoing process and an ethical imperative as a therapist and a Clinical Social Worker. My clients can be assured I will always strive to provide the best possible therapy experience that I can. I am a anti-racist, LGBTQ-affirmative, sex & body positive, and culturally-responsive clinical social work practitioner. Whether in couple therapy, marital therapy, family therapy, individual psychotherapy or supervision/consultation, I will take the needs of you, your identity and your relationships seriously, and will always treat you with respect.

To learn more about EFT, please go to ​http://www.iceeft.com/index.php/about-us/what-is-eft or visit my page on Emotionally Focused Therapy. To learn more about AEDP, please go to http://www.aedpinsitute.org or visit my page on Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
Call 919-228-9729 or email referrals@jamesmccrackenpsychotherapy.com for a brief consult or to set up an appointment.
​
Let's work together to get your needs met.
James McCracken, LCSW Durham Couples Therapy
James McCracken is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker,  Certified Emotionally Focused Therapy Practitioner and Supervisor, and Certified Discernment Counselor dedicated to improving the mental health and emotional well being of North Carolina residents.  He and his associates provide couple therapy, marriage counseling, premarital counseling, sex therapy, discernment counseling, divorce counseling, co-parenting counseling, family therapy, individual psychotherapy, grief & loss counseling, LCSW Supervision, and EFT supervision services in his Durham, NC office and online.  He and his associates are conveniently located to Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Hillsborough, Morrisville, Apex, and Cary for in-office visits, and are available online for all residents of North Carolina. ​If you would like to learn more about this practice directly, receive a free brief consult, or set up an appointment, please call
919-228-9729 ​
​or email referrals@jamesmccrackenpsychotherapy.com

Racial Equality
We welcome and celebrate diversity in this practice and stand against oppression and social injustice including discrimination based on any aspect of identity including: national origin, religion, racism and white supremacy, patriarchy & sexism, ageism, gender conformism & transphobia, and heteronormativity & homophobia.  We work with adolescent and adult clients from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds, and are allied and affirmative providers to LGBQ-TGNC-I+ persons, and are sex-positive, body-positive, and kink-friendly providers.
James A McCracken is listed at AllTherapist.com
verified by Psychology Today
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LGBTQIA affirmative
James McCracken, LCSW & Associates, PLLC.  All Rights Reserved
3326 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., B-130, Durham, NC 27707

referrals@jamesmccrackenpsychotherapy.com | 919-228-9729
  • Home
  • Services
    • Couples Therapy | Marriage Counseling
    • Family Therapy
    • Individual Psychotherapy
    • Supervision/Consultation >
      • EFT Supervision
      • Level Up Group for EFT Supervisors
      • EFT Supervision of Supervision
      • Clinical Social Work Supervision
    • Online Therapy
  • Specialties
    • Emotionally Focused Therapy
    • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
    • Discernment Counseling
    • Intimacy and Sex Problems
    • Couple and Marital Distress
    • Premarital Assessment & Counseling
    • Affair Recovery
    • Family Conflict between Parents and Adult Children
  • About
    • About James
    • Therapy Approach
    • Philosophy of Supervision
    • Associate Practitioners
    • Practice Policies, Fee, & Insurance
    • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Client Resources
    • Client Portal
    • Additional Helpful Resources
    • Consent for Release of Information