About Debra
Debra Sarno is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) based in New York. She brings 30 years of experience and a steady, practical approach to help people manage stress, anxiety, grief, mood concerns, parenting challenges, and relationship issues. She favors approaches that focus on the person in front of her.
Debra uses client-centered work to listen and respond to each person's needs. She also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thoughts and build more useful ways of coping.
How Debra works
Debra draws on mindfulness practices to help people notice what is happening in the moment. She also uses solution-focused ideas to set clear, achievable goals and track progress. Hypnotherapy is another tool she brings when it fits a client's goals and comfort level.
Her background includes clinical work in clinics, hospitals, and schools. That range of settings informs how she structures sessions and plans practical steps that people can use between meetings. She aims to create a calm, respectful space for people to talk through problems and try new strategies.
Sessions typically move at a pace the person prefers. Debra works with issues such as coping with life changes, burnout and compassion fatigue, chronic illness and pain, communication problems, and midlife concerns. She also supports people facing more complex mood and personality challenges, and those looking for coaching-style help for career and life decisions.
Debra lists 5 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
- Grief
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 30 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches adapted for online sessions
Debra commonly blends client-centered work with cognitive behavioral therapy. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and shaping sessions around what matters most to the person. This approach helps people feel heard and guides the pace and topics of each session. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and teaches practical skills to change them; it is useful for anxiety, mood concerns, and stress.She also uses mindfulness practices to help people notice their thoughts and bodily reactions in the moment, which can reduce reactivity and improve self-awareness. Hypnotherapy is available as another option when a person is open to it and it matches their goals. Choosing an approach is a collaborative process - the therapist will discuss options, try methods that fit the person's needs, and adjust plans based on what works best over time.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for deeper conversation and guided exercises. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let someone send thoughts or questions between sessions and can make scheduling easier during a busy week. These formats help people fit therapy into everyday life while practicing the same therapeutic techniques used in person.
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Common questions
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What is her professional background?
What credentials and location are listed?
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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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