About Debra
Debra Fitzgerald is a licensed professional counselor with more than 22 years of experience in Tennessee. She focuses on helping people who are coping with stress, anxiety, mood disorders, and relationship challenges. Debra also supports those facing grief, substance use concerns, body image worries, and changes that come with midlife or caregiving roles.
Her style is direct and empathetic. She listens first to understand each person's story and priorities. Then she works with them to set clear, manageable goals and practical steps they can try between sessions.
How Debra works
Debra uses methods that put the person at the center of the work. She draws on client-centered principles to create a respectful space, and she uses cognitive behavioral tools to address unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. She also integrates elements of the Gottman Method when couples-style communication and closeness are concerns.
Sessions often include skill-building, problem-solving, and straightforward talk about coping strategies. Debra pays attention to the stresses that come from caregiving, aging, illness, and career shifts. She helps people find small changes that add up to better daily functioning.
Clients can expect a practical, steady approach that values each person's strengths. Debra aims to help people move from feeling stuck to having clearer choices and more reliable ways to manage hard moments.
Debra lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Debra works with
The areas below are the ones Debra selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
Training and background
| Register | LPC-MHSP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 22 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Tennessee |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that guide online therapy
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on creating a respectful, nonjudgmental space where the person's own goals lead the work. It helps people who need support naming feelings, rebuilding trust in themselves, and clarifying what matters most.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, uses straightforward exercises to spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT can be useful for anxiety, panic, depression, and patterns that contribute to stress and low mood.
The Gottman Method concentrates on practical communication skills and rebuilding connection when closeness or trust feels strained. Parts of this approach can be used to improve how people talk and solve problems together.
Deciding which approach to use is collaborative. The therapist will talk with the client about their needs, goals, and preferences, and then choose or combine methods that fit. This helps keep sessions focused and relevant to what the person wants to achieve.
Online formats offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and screen-sharing for worksheets. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when someone wants a simpler check-in. Live chat and text-based messaging let people send updates, try short exercises, or schedule brief exchanges between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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