About Debra
Debra Chandler, LMSW, brings a calm, down-to-earth presence to therapy. She focuses on building a warm, open relationship where people can talk about what's worrying them and start making small changes. She believes people can gain insight and make meaningful change when they have a non-judgmental space to look at thoughts, feelings, body responses, and behavior.
Sessions are collaborative and practical. Debra keeps things simple and direct while also being gentle and curious.
Background and approach
Her work draws on client-centered ideas, cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. She often helps people who carry stress, anxiety, depression, or problems with eating and body image. She also supports people dealing with grief, trauma, panic attacks, relationship strain, and shifts like divorce or career change.
Debra has practiced in the mental health field since 1979 and holds a Licensed Master Social Worker credential. That long experience informs a steady, experienced way of guiding conversations and setting doable goals. In sessions she uses mindfulness exercises, thought-behavior tools, and motivational conversations to help people notice patterns and try different choices.
The work tends to focus on what feels most urgent in someone’s life and practical steps they can use between meetings.
How client-centered and practical approaches work online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening in a non-judgmental way and following the person's lead to build trust and clarity. It helps people feel heard and figure out what matters most to them in therapy.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches hands-on strategies to change patterns that fuel anxiety or depression. Mindfulness Therapy helps people notice bodily signals and thoughts without getting swept away, which can be useful for stress, panic, and eating concerns.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Debra works collaboratively with each person to test methods and adjust the mix of tools based on needs, goals, and what feels comfortable. She checks in regularly to make sure the plan fits.
Online options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which offer flexibility for different days and rhythms. Video lets people work face-to-face when that helps, phone sessions require less bandwidth, chat can be useful for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing, brief communication between meetings. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and try methods in real time.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Eating disorders
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
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