“Choosing a therapist who really gets you, is the key to successful therapy”
Deborah Brautman, LMFT
As a therapist, it is important for me to connect with you and help you feel comfortable in expressing your needs. I provide counseling to adults, teens, and couples in a safe and inclusive setting. Through the work we do together, you will have an opportunity to increase overall wellness and balance in your life. I will collaborate with you to identify the specific areas about which you want clarity. Counseling is a growth-oriented process, one in which you will develop more effective communication skills, gain a better understanding of your emotions, and strengthen important relationships.
I can help you navigate challenging transitions in your life such as job changes, grief-related concerns, and important academic decisions. Ultimately, because counseling is so impactful, you will develop a greater sense of self-worth and confidence. I specialize in treating mental health disorders which include, but are not limited to, depression (unipolar and bipolar) and low mood, anxiety and panic, trauma and grief recovery, breakups, self-esteem and assertiveness, developmental life adjustments, gender dysphoria, body image and emotional eating, and health and wellness.
I embrace an integrative approach to treatment, which incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR), along with other approaches based on neuroscience. You will learn new tools and strategies to reduce stress, communicate more assertively, confront anxiety, and improve your overall mood. In addition to working with individual clients, I also have specialized training in couples counseling.
I help couples reduce conflict and increase intimacy.
Part of my approach includes teaching couples to understand one another in a more compassionate manner.
Our unique history, as individuals, impacts our relationships. In our work together, we will create a specialized plan for relationship growth. Despite the hopelessness that couples may experience initially, couples counseling will strengthen not only your existing relationship but will promote individual growth as well.
In my previous experience as a middle school and high school teacher. I cultivated a love of working with teenagers and young adults. Teens confront a unique set of challenges as they explore their identities. I help teens to learn new strategies for coping with increasingly demanding academic goals and new social situations. The tools that they learn in counseling empower them to better cope with stressful situations. Teens enjoy the process and experience higher levels of self-esteem. They feel more hopeful about the future and confident about making important decisions.
Services Offered
Individual Counseling
Let’s explore what is currently on your mind as well as your long-term concerns. Whether you need assistance coping with work stress, relationship challenges, or you are struggling with feelings of depression and/or anxiety, we will work at a pace that feels safe and comfortable for you. There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Therapy is an active and dynamic process, one that lends itself to empowering you to create more balance and peace in your life.
Teen Counseling
Adolescence is both a time of great challenge and of great opportunity. You are in the driver’s seat. We will work together to identify your strengths and learn new coping skills. You will enjoy being able to explore your emotions in a safe environment. Whether you are graduating high school, making decisions about what to do after graduation, or exploring career options, counseling will help you clarify your goals. As a former middle school and high school teacher, I can help you make these important decisions.
Couples Counseling
Couples counseling not only offers you a great opportunity to reduce conflict and increase intimacy in your relationship, but you, personally, will also experience personal growth.
“Love is a constant process of tuning in, connecting, missing, and misreading cues, disconnecting, repairing and finding deeper connection. It’s a dance of meeting & parting & finding each other again. Minute to minute and day to day.”
-Dr. Sue Johnson
My Blog
“Make friends with the tape that plays in your head, so you can unfriend it if it is not telling you the truth”
-Deborah Brautman
If you are reading this post, you are probably in the throes of a painful breakup, and it’s one you did not anticipate. The grief and heartache are unbearable, and you are trying to process a million different feelings at once. You feel like you are on some sort of terrifying rollercoaster ride of emotions—one minute you are furious and the next minute you are sobbing. Some mornings you might wake up and ask yourself, “How could this have happened?” Trying to make sense of your grief leaves you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.