Deborah Partington

For the past 20 years I have worked with individuals experiencing a variety of life challenges, including chronic mental illness. In my practice, I work with adults struggling with depression and/or anxiety and feel locked into a less-than-optimal way of being. My practice is based on Existential-Humanistic principles. I believe all people hold within themselves the path to healthier living. Through learning to focus on the Present, Therapy succeeds when guided by the individual. We all have inherent creativity to live fulfilled lives. I welcome longer term as well as short-term clients. I help people take charge of their creative potential for growth. Healing and growth emerge from our strengths. We all have strengths that have sustained us, however far we are on our life's path. This premise is the foundation of my personal and professional life. I became a psychologist after work in art and literature. The most important factor for successful therapy is the relationship you have with your therapist. One of the hardest steps in therapy is the first one—the reaching out to a therapist. When you invite a therapist into your world, you are inviting that person to accompany you on your life journey, if only for a few steps. There is no “one size fits all” type of therapy. Each one of us has had experiences that make us unique persons. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may appear trivial to others may be of immense importance to you. Therapy can help us deepen our understanding the language of ourselves and not mold you to a language created by someone else. Therapy should give you a language that allows you to be author of our own story. The work one does in therapy happens in the present -- the here and now. Our past and our future are dynamic forces affecting each of us. . While we cannot change past events, they all too often continue to exert influence over our present, and thus, our future. The future is beyond our immediate control, and yet, the future grows from all that has preceded it. Our awareness of the future influences how we respond to the present. Understanding the pulls of past and future allow for greater awareness of the present. This is the work of therapy. I welcome longer term as well as short-term clients. Short-term therapy is more solution-focused. Clientele work on resolving a specific cause of discomfort. Long-term therapy tends to be insight-focused and allows space to explore underlying factors and consequences that interfere with one's growth and living authentically