Deborah Richardson
Experienced, practical, person-centered therapist
LCSW Tennessee
- Experience
- 45 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Depression
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English
About Deborah
Deborah Richardson is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who brings a practical, person-focused style to therapy informed by 45 years of diverse experience. She blends cognitive behavioral ideas with acceptance-oriented and attachment-informed approaches to help people manage stress, anxiety, mood concerns, trauma, grief, and life transitions.
Background and approach
Her background includes inpatient and outpatient care, nursing home and group-home work, prison settings, and long-term forensic psychiatry followed by many years in independent practice. Clients encounter a warm, down-to-earth clinician who values plain language, empathy, and creative therapeutic tasks tailored to the individual.
Deborah has worked with people facing parenting and family challenges, ADHD, bipolar and mood disorders, compassion fatigue, and multicultural concerns among other issues. She favors techniques that engage real-life activities - from writing and music to visual expression - adapting tools to fit each person rather than forcing a single method.
Based in Tennessee, she accepts international clients and offers a range of remote session formats. Her aim is to help people identify practical steps they can take to mend relationships, cope with loss, and build daily habits that support long-term wellbeing.
How evidence-based approaches translate to online care
Deborah commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in ways that translate well to remote formats. CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors through practical exercises and skill-building, which adapts easily to video work, phone check-ins, and written assignments. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy emphasizes values-based action and mindfulness strategies to help people live more purposeful lives despite difficult feelings, and it pairs naturally with coaching-style exercises and reflective practices done between sessions.Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Deborah treats selection as collaborative. She works with clients to explore which methods feel most helpful given their goals, preferences, and daily routines, and adjusts techniques over time so therapy stays relevant and usable in everyday life.
Online therapy offers flexible options that fit varied schedules and needs. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for in-depth work, phone sessions can be a convenient alternative, and live chat or text-based messaging support brief check-ins, ongoing skills practice, and timely troubleshooting. These formats make it easier to integrate therapeutic tools into real-world moments and maintain continuity of care across distances.
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Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
45+ years
Licensed
Tennessee
Languages
English