DEBBIE CHILDERS

Debbie earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History and Secondary Education from Duke University.  She earned a Master of Science (M.S.) in Counseling and an Education Specialty (Ed.S.) in Marriage and Family Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Although she spent many years teaching and tutoring teenage students in Greensboro, she resumed counseling in 2023.  She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (#18597) in the state of North Carolina.

Debbie has a passion for helping teens and adults become the confident and capable individuals God has created them to be. She works from a Biblical worldview, but is willing to work with clients who have a different spiritual orientation.  Debbie believes in creating a safe, supportive place in which clients can work through life’s disruptions and emerge with healthy coping skills and greater resilience.  She enjoys working with teenagers who are experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship challenges and self-worth struggles.  She also works with adults facing loss, relational conflict and adjustment difficulties.  Special areas of emphasis include infertility, grief and loss, and refugee trauma and adjustment.

Debbie believes that  individual growth happens in the context of relationships.  Part of healthy development is learning how to set boundaries and nurture healthy attachments.  She draws on Emotionally Based Therapy to help clients cultivate emotional awareness and strengthen bonds of attachment in order to optimize a person’s confidence, satisfaction and resilience in all life circumstances.   She also uses a variety of counseling approaches that include but are not limited to art therapy, play therapy, role play exercises, cognitive restructuring and behavior goal-setting.