About Deborah
Deborah Sterling is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California who helps people manage anxiety, stress, depression, and relationship strain. She also supports clients dealing with trauma, grief, self-esteem struggles, ADHD concerns, and the challenges of parenting and family change. Her tone is practical and steady, aimed at people who need clear, usable steps more than jargon.
Deborah draws on three years of clinical practice alongside a long history of work with children and families in foster care.
Background and approach
She uses straightforward conversation and listening to get a picture of what is causing day-to-day distress. From there she offers tools that people can use between sessions. Her work is influenced by cognitive behavioral ideas, which help people notice unhelpful thinking and try different behaviors.
She also uses client-centered principles - paying close attention to each person's goals and pace. Solution-focused methods help set small, achievable steps when change feels overwhelming. Sessions typically look like a mix of talking through current problems, practicing new coping skills, and planning concrete next steps.
Deborah pays attention to family history, adoption or foster care experiences, and relationship patterns when they relate to the current concern. She works in English and provides services online by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging. Deborah keeps explanations simple and tries to make therapy feel usable in a busy life.
How Deborah's Approaches Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy means the therapist follows the client's lead, pays attention to what feels most important, and adjusts pace and focus to match each person's needs. It helps when someone needs a compassionate listener and personalized support.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps people notice patterns of thinking that increase anxiety or low mood and then try different thoughts and actions to change how they feel. It often includes short exercises to practice between sessions and works well for worry, stress, and mood concerns.
Solution-Focused Therapy focuses on small, achievable steps and on what is already working. This approach is useful when someone wants to move forward quickly with concrete goals and measurable progress.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has helped or not helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let the therapist see nonverbal cues and do deeper work. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging can support quick check-ins, reminders, or brief coaching between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask
What types of concerns does this therapist address?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What relevant experience does she bring?
What credentials and location are listed?
Which languages and international options are available?
What session formats does she offer?
How does pricing work for sessions?
How do I get started with therapy?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
Also listed
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family problems
- Grief
- LGBT
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.