Deborah Downing , LISW

Deborah Downing is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) practicing in Ohio with more than 17 years of clinical experience. Early in her career she worked at a residential rehabilitation facility for adolescents, providing family therapy, trauma-focused work, and both group and individual sessions for young people and their parents. That foundation informed her skill working with trauma and with families facing complex challenges.

She later spent several years as a school social worker in a large public school, addressing issues such as anger management, grief, divorce, and teen sexuality. In her current part-time role she serves as an assessor for families navigating the adoption process, a position she finds rewarding and engaging. Over time her practice has grown from a primary focus on teenagers to include more adults working on relationship difficulties, parenting concerns, and broader life transitions.

Deborah brings a warm and engaging style to her clinical work and has experience supporting families dealing with fertility challenges, loss, depression, communication struggles, and health-related stress. She has worked with many survivors of trauma and emphasizes trauma-informed care in her approach. She looks forward to getting to know clients and hopes to connect in ways that support their goals and resilience.

Trauma-informed and family-centered online care

Deborah uses trauma-informed care to guide work with clients who have experienced abuse, loss, or other destabilizing events. This approach focuses on understanding how trauma affects emotions, behavior, and relationships, and it emphasizes pacing and sensitivity while processing difficult experiences.

She also draws on family therapy techniques that examine communication patterns and interaction styles within families. Family-focused work can help with parenting challenges, relationship conflicts, and transitions such as adoption by clarifying roles, setting boundaries, and improving problem-solving.

Individual and group modalities are part of her range of practice, offering space for one-on-one work on issues like addictions, depression, caregiver stress, body image, and life purpose as well as opportunities to learn from peers in group settings.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Deborah works with each person to identify goals, preferences, and practical needs, and she adjusts techniques to fit the client rather than using a one-size-fits-all model.

Online formats - including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging - make it possible to engage in this work with flexibility. These options can reduce travel time, allow scheduling around work or caregiving responsibilities, and help clients access licensed professionals and therapists from different locations when appropriate.