Debra Schwarze
Experienced counselor guiding practical change
LCPC, LPC Illinois
- Experience
- 30 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Grief, Depression
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
- Languages
- English
About Debra
Debra Schwarze is a licensed counselor with three decades of experience working across community mental health, schools, faith-based settings, health systems, and independent practice.
Background and approach
She helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, depression, mood disorders, trauma and abuse, relationship and family challenges, caregiving strain, life transitions, and concerns such as insomnia, self-esteem, ADHD, and career issues. Her background also includes work with cancer, end-of-life and hospice concerns, divorce and separation, and issues like infidelity, isolation, and life purpose.
She practices with an eclectic, client-centered stance that often draws on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness strategies, and she also integrates EMDR when appropriate. Trained in counseling and art therapy at the master’s level, she sometimes incorporates art-making for clients who find it helpful to express experiences that are difficult to put into words.
Debra holds Illinois and Wisconsin counseling licenses (LCPC and LPC) and brings a compassionate, collaborative approach to helping people identify goals and develop practical coping skills. Clients who choose her work with a therapist who emphasizes respect, openness, and gradual progress rather than quick fixes.
She encourages honesty in the therapeutic relationship and supports clients as they explore changes they want to make in life.
Approaches for Online Care and Practical Skill Building
Debra uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop concrete strategies for changing behaviors and managing symptoms like anxiety, panic, and mood disturbances. Client-centered therapy is also central to her work, offering a supportive, nonjudgmental space where the client's values and choices guide the pace and focus of sessions. When appropriate, she integrates EMDR to address distressing memories and trauma-related symptoms through structured processing techniques.
Choosing a therapeutic approach is part of a collaborative process. She works together with each person to explore which methods feel most helpful, adjusting strategies based on the client’s goals, comfort level, and progress rather than applying a single method from the outset.
Online therapy with this practice can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit varying needs and lifestyles. These formats support flexibility for people balancing work, caregiving, or medical appointments, and they allow consistent access to licensed professionals who guide practical skill development and coping strategies over time.
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Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Licensed
Illinois, Wisconsin
Languages
English