- CBT strategies
- DBT skills
- Mindfulness practice
About Deborah
Deborah Jost-Beauford is an Illinois LCPC - Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with 15 years of clinical work. She has worked as a psychotherapist, art therapist, and pet therapist and helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, anger, relationship strain, grief, and life transitions.
Her approach mixes short-term strategies and deeper exploration. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to reframe unhelpful thinking. She uses dialectical behavior ideas to teach emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills. Mindfulness and acceptance practices are part of sessions when they fit the person’s goals.
Deborah also brings psychodynamic perspective into conversations about patterns that repeat across relationships and over time. That can help when impulsivity, attachment concerns, or long-standing family issues keep showing up. She includes art-based tools and practical exercises when a nonverbal or experiential method would help someone access feeling and process it.
Sessions are focused and practical. People learn specific skills to manage anger, sleep problems, or overwhelming stress. They also work on understanding the stories and histories that feed persistent problems like low self-esteem or chronic worry.
Her background includes grief work and supports for end-of-life concerns, chronic pain, and caregiver stress. Deborah invites a collaborative process where clients set goals and test changes between sessions. To begin, clients follow the site steps to match and schedule a first appointment.
Therapeutic approaches used in remote sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing thoughts and feelings without getting ruled by them and clarifying what matters to guide action. It can help when anger is tied to avoidance or guilt. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks down situations into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical steps to change unhelpful thinking and behavior. CBT is often useful for stress, sleep problems, and low mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emphasizes concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness and can help reduce impulsive reactions.Picking the right mix of methods is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to try approaches, watch what helps, and adjust plans based on goals and preferences. That way sessions remain practical and focused on manageable changes.
Confirm the session formats available before booking since the biography does not list specific formats. Online therapy can make it easier to fit counseling into a busy life - for example by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins on a work break, or avoiding camera use when someone prefers audio only. Licensed professionals can use these conveniences to help people practice skills between sessions and apply learning directly to daily situations.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, anger, relationship and family concerns, grief, sleep and eating issues, ADHD, bipolar features, and related challenges.
What is her general therapeutic style?
She combines practical skill teaching with deeper exploration of patterns. Sessions use techniques from CBT, DBT, mindfulness, ACT, and psychodynamic thinking.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 15 years of experience as a psychotherapist, art therapist, and pet therapist.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is an IL LCPC - Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Select the "See online therapy options" button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.