Amanda Vacca, M.A, LMHC

Amanda Vacca, M.A, LMHC My name is Amanda, and I’m a licensed psychotherapist and owner of Mindful Living Counseling & Consul

05/21/2026

There was a time I thought I needed to change who I was in order to be more “acceptable.” Less opinionated. Less visible. Less ambitious. Less direct. Less me.

Turns out, what some people called “too much audacity” was actually conviction, vision, resilience, creativity, leadership, and the willingness to take risks before there was proof they’d work. I can recognize these as strengths now.

I didn’t build my life by shrinking.
I built it by abandoning what I was taught or conditioned to believe… by trusting myself enough to keep going anyway.

So if you’ve been told you’re too loud, too driven, too emotional, too intense, too ambitious, too honest… maybe you’re not too much. Maybe you’re becoming EXACTLY who you’re meant to be💕💕

05/19/2026

You’re not stuck because you’re lazy.
You’re stuck because your nervous system is overwhelmed.
When the body moves into a freeze response, everything sloooowsss doooown.

Motivation drops. Clarity fades. Even small tasks can feel impossible! This isn’t a character flaw, It’s a survival response.

Your system is trying to conserve energy and protect you from further overwhelm.

The problem is… it doesn’t always know when it’s safe to move again… So you stay stuck😔😳👀

Healing isn’t about forcing productivity.
It’s about helping your nervous system shift out of freeze…
so action feels possible again.

Save this if you’ve been hard on yourself lately🩶😉

05/13/2026

Mental health workers are some of the most unseen people in healthcare. May 12th is for honoring the work you do. Thank you, you matter so deeply💕

Today, and I responded to the burning questions of 7th and 8th graders at Rippowam about addiction and recovery.And whe...
05/12/2026

Today, and I responded to the burning questions of 7th and 8th graders at Rippowam about addiction and recovery.

And when I tell you their questions were mind-blowing, I mean it. The kind of curiosity that deserves safe, stigma-free spaces to land.

This is why we do this work.
To normalize the conversation.
To replace shame with information.
To empower young people to ask questions before pressure shows up.
To remind them that ASKING FOR HELP IS OK!

I’m always grateful for collaboration that makes the work deeper and more impactful. I’m also constantly amazed by Marshall and what he does as an adventure-based recovery coach. Lived experience, purpose, mentorship, and real change.

And a big thank you to for joining the conversation. I’m proud of you and your academic journey, and I love seeing you bring your brilliance into spaces like this.

Let’s keep creating places where kids can get curious, feel safe, and learn the truth.

04/14/2026

A little mahj ASMR for your Monday🀄️💕

This is one of the things I do as a trauma therapist to help reset my own nervous system. Solo mahjong, Siamese mahjong, or a 4 person game - just being able to lock in with mindful intense focus is the mental escape I need after a long day😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

And how stinking cute is this mini travel set from My Fair Mahjong 💛🩷🩵 SMILES & TILES ?!

There’s a narrative out there that young men are “unmotivated,” “checked out,” or “just not trying.”In my work, that’s r...
04/12/2026

There’s a narrative out there that young men are “unmotivated,” “checked out,” or “just not trying.”

In my work, that’s rarely the full story. More often, what we’re seeing are adaptations—responses to overwhelm, shame, pressure, or disconnection that have nowhere else to go.

I’m really excited to be part of an upcoming event in Westchester where we’re having a much more honest conversation about this.

I’ll be joining Vince Benevento—author of Boys Will Be Men: 8 Lessons for the Lost American Male—who will be leading the discussion on what keeps so many young men feeling stuck, and what actually helps them move forward.

I’ll be bringing a trauma-informed lens—reframing behaviors not as a lack of motivation, but as meaningful adaptations.

And Frank Brittan will be rounding out the conversation with his expertise in addiction and work with individuals and families.

Because sometimes it’s trauma.
Sometimes it’s substance use.
Sometimes it’s both.
And sometimes it’s neither.

But if we’re only looking at the surface, we’re missing the point.

This is a free event and an incredible opportunity for:
• Parents of young men
• Professionals working with adolescents/young adults
• Anyone wanting a deeper understanding of what’s really going on

Details + registration link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boys-will-be-men-helping-young-men-find-their-path-tickets-1985768286400?aff=oddtdtcreator

Vince Benevento Causeway Collaborative

03/31/2026

What if I told you that your “bad dating choices” were really your nervous system’s way of adapting?

Follow if you want to understand more about how trauma shows up in your relationships!

03/12/2026

As a therapist, business owner, partner, and mother myself, I understand how complex the parenting juggling act can be. Many days feel like managing a thousand moving pieces; children’s schedules, a household, relationships, and the responsibilities that come with running a practice and consulting work.

One thing I see often in my work with high-functioning professionals and parents is this: the people who are most capable of holding everything together are often the ones who forget they deserve support too. Therapy can be a place where you don’t have to carry it all alone. A space to slow down, reflect, and understand the deeper patterns shaping how you show up in your life, your relationships, and your work. Because even the strongest and most capable people deserve a place to be held as well🩶🙌

So happy National Working Mom day, to ALL the mothers out there - because I don’t know a single one who doesn’t put in WORK!!!

Trauma isn’t just something we remember.It’s something the brain and nervous system hold onto.When overwhelming experien...
03/11/2026

Trauma isn’t just something we remember.
It’s something the brain and nervous system hold onto.
When overwhelming experiences happen, the brain’s natural processing system can become disrupted. Instead of being stored as something in the past, the memory can remain stuck in the nervous system, which is why certain situations, thoughts, or sensations can feel as if the experience is happening again.

EMDR therapy helps the brain process those experiences differently. Through bilateral stimulation and guided processing, the brain can begin to integrate the memory in a way that allows it to move from something that feels immediate and overwhelming to something that feels resolved and in the past.

The memory doesn’t disappear; But the emotional intensity often shifts in profound ways. This may look/feel like, fewer triggers, less emotional flooding, greater self-understanding, or a deeper sense of calm in situations that once felt overwhelming. Healing trauma is not about forgetting what happened.It’s about helping the brain process what it couldn’t at the time.

Save this if you want to learn more about how trauma actually works in the brain! Follow for more conversations about trauma, recovery, and EMDR ;)

😉🩶
02/10/2026

😉🩶

Address

500 Mamaroneck Avenue Suite 320
Harrison, NY
10528

Telephone

+19144144497

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Amanda Vacca, M.A, LMHC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Amanda Vacca, M.A, LMHC:

Shortcuts

Share

Category