Holistic Jungian therapist specializing in trauma and relationships
I’m pleased to introduce myself to you. I’m Deborah Richardson, LCSW, but most people call me “Deb”. All of my life I’ve had people tell me things in confidence. When you’re a minor, that can be a little scary at times; but that’s the beginning of a therapist. Now I know it’s scarier for the person who has a secret that needs to be told.
I didn’t set out to be a therapist. I thought I’d be an administrator in a social services agency until I realized I can’t balance a Profit and Loss Statement because I have numbers dyslexia. You see, my mind isn’t perfect. Like everyone, there are many things I can’t do well. Then I found myself covering for a full-time therapist and suddenly I found my joy, and I’ve continued to find it everyday for forty-plus years.
Along the way I picked up two husbands, two daughters, a dozen pets, and thousands of clients. I divorced one husband, buried another, watched two little girls fly away, and now I wait for grandchildren. I also completed a teaching degree followed by a master’s degree in social work from The University of Tennessee.
Then there’s my fur-baby, the ten pound Shih Tzu Amanda-Grace, who was the office pet therapist when I saw clients face-to-face. She became very depressed when we stopped having clients in the office: laying around, not eating or playing. She came to life again when she discovered YouTube videos of cats, dogs, and talking birds. She’s happiest, though, when hearing your voices on my speakers. Don’t worry, she’s the most ethical therapist there is. Everything is totally confidential with Gracie.
Over the course of four decades I’ve worked with all ages from many walks of life. I’ve worked in-patient, out-patient, a nursing home, a group-home, and a prison. I did forensic psychiatry for fifteen years and private practice for twenty-four. I’ve used whatever therapeutic techniques worked for an individual. We’ve walked in the sunshine, listened to music, painted emotions, and written about heartache. We’ve read “The Giving Tree”, watched “Attack on Titan”, and sang “It’s Not Easy Being Green”.
Through my professional work experience, I’ve learned that using a lot of professional jargon isn’t as important as remembering someone’s birthday, and keeping it real is synonymous with empathy. I found that “normal” is very broad and “average” is very small. Acceptance of one’s self is harder to do than acceptance of others, but judgments comes quickly and punishments even swifter.
I find that many people believe life is a yellow brick road with a pot of gold at the end, or perhaps Elton John playing piano. Either way, it’s a journey they hope for but never think they can take. I believe life can be a yellow brick road, if that’s what you want, but all roads have pot holes no matter where they lead or what color they are. My job is to teach each client how to fill their pot holes, or build a bridge, or knock-down a wall, or mend a broken heart for themselves. What I do isn’t as important as who you are at the end of this journey together.
I hope you will join me at Better Help to travel your road, where ever it goes, safely and in peace.
Licensed · Professional · Cancel Anytime
Deborah Richardson is an experienced licensed clinical social worker in Tennessee, holding TN LCSW 3405, and she explains that listening has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. She did not begin her career planning to be a therapist – she expected to work in social service administration until a stint covering for a full-time therapist revealed a deep and lasting sense of purpose. That moment led to more than 45 years in the helping professions.
Her path has included a teaching degree and a master of social work from The University of Tennessee, and decades of varied clinical experience. Deborah has worked in in-patient and out-patient settings, a nursing home, a group home, and a prison. She spent fifteen years in forensic psychiatry and maintained a twenty-four-year private practice. Over the years she has supported people of all ages from many walks of life.
Deborah describes her approach as practical and adaptable – she uses whatever therapeutic techniques fit an individual, whether that means walking in the sunshine, listening to music, painting emotions, writing about heartache, or reading stories together. She has shared moments that range from reading The Giving Tree to watching Attack on Titan to singing It’s Not Easy Being Green, always choosing what helps a particular person express and heal.
On a personal level she has navigated significant life changes: two marriages, two daughters, the loss of one husband, a divorce from another, and the gradual letting-go as her daughters grew and left home. She is now waiting for grandchildren. Along the way she has also cared for many pets and thousands of clients, experiences that have shaped her compassionate perspective.
Her office companion was a ten-pound Shih Tzu named Amanda-Grace, known as Gracie, who served as an office pet therapist when Deborah met clients in person. Gracie struggled when in-person visits stopped but brightened again with simple pleasures like videos and hearing clients’ voices on speakers. Deborah notes, with a touch of humor, that everything was totally confidential with Gracie.
Deborah works with a wide range of concerns, including stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, coping with life changes, ADHD, relationship and family issues, grief, parenting, self-esteem, bipolar disorder, and compassion fatigue. She is a female, older therapist who identifies as liberal, and she brings a straightforward, empathetic style that values remembering small personal details and keeping communication real. Her goal is to help each person mend, build, or bridge what is needed so they finish therapy feeling stronger and more whole.
Many people wonder whether meeting with a therapist online can truly help. For common concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, or navigating life changes, online therapy has been shown to be as effective as traditional in-person care for most individuals.
One major benefit is flexibility – you can connect in the way that suits you best, whether by video call, phone session, live chat, or in-app messaging. That range of options often makes it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule or to seek support from a convenient location.
Therapists who provide services remotely are licensed professionals, and it is possible to change therapists if you later decide a different fit would be better. For many people, online therapy offers an accessible, adaptable way to address everyday challenges and support personal growth.
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