CounselingBlog

Boundaries

I met a fellow therapist through a forum on a directory that my practice is listed on.  She wrote a very interesting blog post today about our electronic connections.

Part of what Nancy Quay says is that the instant connection, whether IM or email, or whatever, makes it more difficult for us to keep clear boundaries with each other.

Boundaries, in case you wonder, are the spaces between people - emotional or physical space - that says, "this is me/mine" and "that is you or yours"

Take a look and see if her comments stir anything in you.
Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna, LPC, NCC
www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

Pixies in the New Year

Yesterday, I sent out a New Year's edition of The Occasional Newsletter.  That is a pretty common occurrence around here, and one that is not normally fraught with danger.

I use Constant Contact (CC) for my newsletters.  I find it easy to use and it presents a fairly professional product.

Last month, they offered me the chance to try a Beta version of their templates - and I decided to use the new templates for yesterday's newsletter.

The new templates are great as they employ a WYSIWYG format.  I don't think the new templates are any faster than the old, but for folks who aren't proficient in HTML, the changes will be welcomed.  I know enough HTML to get through w/o the new templates, but still, I love new technology so I was excited.

CC offers the chance to send a "test copy" of the newsletter to yourself or others for proofing etc.  I always do this because I am not known for great spelling, and it just helps me make things nice.

My test newsletter came out beautifully - and so I happily sent it out and then spent the rest of the day dining and hiking with friends.

When I got home last evening, I had a chance to look at my "real" version.  I saw that text had shifted places, entire sentences were missing - it looked awful. 

UGH!

I love doing these newsletters, and get great feedback from clients and colleagues about both the layout and the content.  I certainly would not have knowingly sent it out with the text scrambled. 

So, I began 2007 with a cuppa coffee, sitting at my laptop, completely redoing the newsletter in the OLD format.

A friend calls getting dizzy or woozy "getting pixie."  I certainly think my newsletter was pixie - or pixied (charmed by faeries).  Hopefully, the newsletter faeries will look kindly on this revision and let me spend the rest of the day in peace.

I did complain to Constant Contact, and they have asked for copies of both the correct test copy and the wacky actual copy - that gives me hope.  However, I did not mean to impose the very betaness of this on my clients...

I am off to make a fresh pot of coffee - with fingers crossed.

Happy New Year -
Cynthia
ps - I'll post photos of the hiking and tamale making a bit later today - we had a grand time.

Blog Guilt

I love to write.

One of my favorite aspects of running my business is writing.

I have been very happily busy.  Busy with clients, busy with autumn chores, busy with friends - October has been a great month.

However, I have not been writing - not my blog, not articles, not newsletters...nada.

So as I turn the calendar to November, I am promising more writing, more reflection, and more time to spend doing things I love.

I have some plans for how that will take shape, but I am keeping them under wraps for now.

Happy Halloween dear readers,
Cynthia
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Cynthia McKenna, LPC, NCC
Creating Healthy Relationships
 www.cynthiamckenna.com
CounselingBlog

Kitchen excitement

The Lemongrass Girls is a cool new blog that offers food writing, cooking tips, and generally great foodie information.

Dina, at www.wordfeeder.com invited me to be an honorary Lemongrass Girl - which really is an honor for me.  Dina and Ann are great writers and obvious lovers of food - so i am in fantastic company.

Check out the link and you can read about my new love, and while you are there, poke around a bit and see what other tidbits you can munch on.

Cynthia
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www.cynthiamckenna.com
CounselingBlog
Creating Healthy Relationships and oodles of cookies...

Renewal

This has been a difficult week.  Our friend Lesley Marcus died and our hearts are heavy with her passing.

Then there is new life - I am offering extended office hours in my practice.  Creating the new hours offers a chance for some new clients to come into my practice - and that is always such a joy and blessing.

I have to do a lot of writing this weekend - so there will be a new post or two here.  I am also starting a website geared toward counseling specifically for lesbians, so that will be up and running quite soon.

And, I have decided to make some peanut butter cookies this weekend.  If you are in the area, you might watch for me dropping by your business with cookies in hand.
Cynthia
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www.cynthiamckenna.com
www.counseling.typepad.com

Lesley Marcus

Lesley Marcus died this morning from lung cancer - she will be greatly missed.  Our prayers are with her family. 

Cynthia
*************
www.cynthiamckenna.com

Rainy Saturday

It is raining here, unexpected rain, welcome rain.

I had planned to spend my morning watering all the young trees we have planted (oak, redbuds, crepe myrtle) but wonderful Mother Nature has done it for me.  So I have had a quiet morning at my desk.

We found a solution for the poor tomato patch.  I am going to erect a dog kennel with 6ft walls, and cover the top with chicken wire - that should be enough to keep the wild creatures from harvesting my crops.  I am hopeful that the gigantic tomato cage will be finished this weekend.  Maybe I'll post a photo of the Tomato Fortress.

I write articles for some local publications, as well as for publication on the Internet.  I need to write two self-help articles this week - and am wondering what to focus on.  Most recently, I have written about couples communication and healthy boundaries.  If I were writing the article for myself, it would focus on moving from a state of being  over-extended to a state of balance. 

So, readers, what do you do move yourself from the over-extended & stressed out state back to a place of calm and balance?

I would love to hear your ideas.  Click on the "comments" Burton below and give me your ideas, or send me an email:
cm@cynthiamckennacounseling.com

Happy Saturday to all. 

Cynthia
*************
Cynthea Kenna LC, NC
Counseling & Life Coaching
www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com
www.counseling.typepad.com