About Debra
Debra Shelton is a licensed counselor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, and relationship or family struggles. She has 22 years of experience and works with people who are coping with life changes, sleep problems, low self-esteem, trauma and compassion fatigue. Debra practices in Florida and offers services in English, including to international clients.
Her approach is straightforward and interactive. Sessions are casual but focused, and she talks with clients about practical steps they can try between meetings.
Background and approach
Debra uses problem-solving tools and helps people test new ways of thinking and behaving to meet their goals. Debra draws on therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, client-centered approaches, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. She blends these methods to match each person’s needs, using empathy and clear guidance to move conversations toward change.
Her work often addresses patterns from family of origin, codependency, forgiveness, and issues around caregiving or blended families. She also supports people working through infidelity, divorce and separation, addiction recovery, or feelings of emptiness and isolation. Debra emphasizes collaboration.
She helps people name priorities, try small experiments, and build skills that last. Practical tools, steady support, and realistic steps are central to her way of helping.
Therapeutic approaches and how they work online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions because it focuses on what a person wants to move toward rather than only on symptoms. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills to change patterns that worsen anxiety or depression. Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening, empathy, and the client's own insight to guide growth and healing.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, what has helped before, and their preferences. Then she blends elements of ACT, CBT, client-centered methods, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing so the plan fits the person's needs and pace.
Online therapy offers flexibility in how sessions happen. Video calls let people work face to face and use visual cues. Phone sessions can fit a break at work or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging make it easier to check in between appointments or keep sessions shorter. These options help people maintain momentum and fit therapy into busy or changing lives.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida
- Languages
- English
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