Deborah LaBounty, LMHC

Deborah LaBounty is a licensed mental health counselor practicing in New York. She brings ten years of professional experience to her work and focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and addictions. Deborah creates a welcoming space where clients can talk about hard things without judgment. She often uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people notice and shift unhelpful thinking and behaviors. She also follows a client-centered approach that emphasizes the person’s own goals and pace. When life feels overwhelming, Deborah helps clients build practical coping skills they can use day to day. Her work covers relationship and family concerns along with issues like grief, intimacy struggles, and sleep problems. She also supports people facing career stress, caregiver strain, and the long-term effects of trauma and abuse. Additional focus areas include attachment and abandonment concerns, blended family challenges, and substance use issues. Deborah has experience using dialectical behavior strategies to manage strong emotions and reduce impulsive reactions. She is also familiar with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for people processing traumatic memories. Throughout therapy she aims to listen closely and collaborate on a plan that fits each person’s needs. Sessions are offered in English and can be scheduled around clients’ lives. Deborah recognizes that starting therapy takes courage and she works to make the first steps straightforward and manageable.

How Deborah’s Approaches Work Online

Deborah commonly draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and client-centered methods when working with clients. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can reduce anxiety and improve mood. Client-centered work focuses on listening, reflecting, and helping clients set their own goals at a comfortable pace.

She also uses dialectical behavior strategies to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills for clients who struggle with intense moods or impulsive actions. These approaches are explained in plain terms and are applied together based on what fits each person best. Finding the right approach is part of the process and Deborah will collaborate with clients to choose methods that match their needs and goals.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging are useful for shorter check-ins, skill practice, or when a written format helps someone organize thoughts. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to continue work from different locations.