About Marcken

I’ve learned that healing rarely begins with answers.
More often, it begins with being heard.

For much of my life, I was drawn to stories, especially the ones people carried quietly. Stories shaped by pain, resilience, faith, loss, and the longing to make sense of what happened. Over time, I came to understand that trauma doesn’t only live in our memories; it lives in our bodies, our relationships, and the ways we see ourselves and the world.

My work today is rooted in a simple belief: healing happens in safe, compassionate spaces where people are invited to tell the truth of their experience without judgment and without pressure to “fix” it.

The HEAL Framework

Everything I do is guided by the principles behind HEAL:

  • Hope — believing that healing is possible, even when it feels distant

  • Encourage — creating spaces that support courage and growth

  • Affirm — honoring each person’s lived experience without minimizing it

  • Listen — recognizing that deep listening is often the beginning of transformation

Whether through writing, speaking, or conversation, HEAL shapes how I show up and how I invite others into the healing process.

Why I Do This Work

I didn’t arrive at trauma informed work by accident. Like many, my path was shaped by witnessing suffering, sitting with hard questions, and recognizing how often people are asked to move on before they’ve been truly understood.

Along the way, I saw how powerful it is when someone feels affirmed instead of rushed, listened to instead of analyzed. I saw how hope can return not all at once, but gently when a person’s story is honored.

That understanding became the heart of my work as a therapist, writer, and speaker.

Writing, Speaking, & Story

I’m the author of Trauma Stories: Discovering Strength Through Our Vulnerabilities, a reflection on how compassionate storytelling can foster resilience and meaning.

Through HEAL Letters, my weekly newsletter, I share trauma-informed reflections and encouragement for those navigating healing in real life.

As a speaker, I partner with organizations, churches, schools, and communities to bring trauma-informed conversations into spaces that need them most—blending story, clinical insight, and faith-aware reflection to cultivate understanding, connection, and hope.

I also provide EMDR consultation to clinicians seeking depth, clarity, and care in their trauma-informed practice.

A Gentle Invitation

If you’re here, you may be carrying questions, pain, curiosity, or a desire to grow personally or professionally. You don’t have to have everything figured out.

I invite you to take the next step that feels right for you:

  • Join HEAL Letters

  • Explore my speaking work

  • Read Trauma Stories

  • Or simply stay and reflect

Healing is not linear but it doesn’t have to be walked alone.