Reconnect. Recalibrate.
Rebuild.
A practice grounded in science, guided by compassion, and built to empower from within.
“The medical model has limits in understanding how beliefs, relationships, and lived experience shape behavior, identity, and long-term wellbeing.
-DEBRA SUSSMAN
About Debra.
“Leading with research, connecting through compassion.”
Debra Sussman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with advanced training in Health Psychology through Harvard Medical School and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Sexual Health. Licensed in California and Texas, she brings over two decades of clinical and professional experience supporting individuals, couples, and adolescents through complex transitions, relationship challenges, and high-stakes professional demands.
Her clinical work focuses on anxiety, ADHD, life transitions, and sexual wellness—areas informed by both rigorous research and real-world experience. She has worked with industry leaders across technology, entertainment, finance, healthcare, law, athletics, and academia, understanding the unique pressures that come with high achievement and public-facing roles.
Before establishing her private practice, Debra held leadership roles at Chase Investors/JP Morgan, Coldwell Banker Commercial, and Dun & Bradstreet Software, where she developed expertise in executive wellness, organizational behavior, and the intersection of financial and emotional health. She has also served as Executive Director of Training and Development, worked with UCLA fertility programs, consulted for school systems, and contributed to the White House Advanced Team and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs.
She has been a guest speaker at medical conferences and authored pieces on healthy living, financial wellness, women's health, and the ADHD brain. Her philosophy is grounded in the principle: "The way you do anything is the way you do everything"—recognizing that patterns show up across all areas of life.
Debra's therapeutic approach integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Jungian psychology, trauma-informed care, Gottman Method couples counseling, and Relationship Intelligence frameworks developed by Esther Perel. She is also a certified Executive Leadership Coach, Health Coach, and Financial Wellness Practitioner.
She is an active member of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (TAMFT), California Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT), Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD), the International OCD Foundation, and the Modern Sex Therapy Institute.
Areas of expertise.
Below are specialized areas where I've seen the most transformation in my clients, and where I bring the most focused, intentional expertise to our work together.
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When stress becomes the background noise of everyday life, it’s hard to feel grounded or clear. Lifestyle-focused support helps you make sense of how your habits, values, and environment affect your wellbeing as we work on creating sustainable changes that actually fit your life.
High-level responsibility often comes with invisible pressure. Executive wellness supports professionals in managing stress, decision-making, leadership dynamics, and work–life integration.
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Relationships can bring out both our strongest and most tender edges. Our work together focuses on understanding what’s happening beneath the surface and creating emotional safety that helps individuals and couples move toward connection, honesty, and mutual respect.
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Women's bodies go through profound hormonal shifts - pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause - and each phase brings its own mental, emotional, and physical challenges. I work with women navigating anxiety, mood changes, identity shifts, and relationship dynamics tied to these transitions. This isn't just about managing symptoms - it's about understanding how hormones influence your mental health and building tools that support you through every stage of life.
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Adolescence is a time of rapid growth, identity formation, and emotional development. Therapy offers teens a supportive space to build confidence, self-awareness, and emotional skills while helping families better understand what support looks like during this stage.
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Mental and physical health aren't separate - they're deeply interconnected. I work with clients to understand how stress, hormones, lifestyle, and relationships shape mood, energy, and overall well-being. This approach addresses anxiety, depression, and burnout through a whole-person lens grounded in health psychology and functional psychiatry. Together, we'll build strategies that support both mental clarity and physical vitality.
A different approach to therapy.
You’re not broken. My approach isn’t about diagnoses or labels. Together, we organize what’s already there: your insight, strengths, and behavioral patterns shaping your experience.
I then integrate evidence-based psychology, trauma-informed care, and mind–body awareness to help you build skills you can use in daily life.
This is preventative therapy that centers around personal development rather than symptom management. The goal is to move beyond managing problems toward developing the capacity to transform stress into direction and insight into self-leadership
My values.
UNDERSTANDING BEFORE ACTION
Insight creates the conditions for real change.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OVER PATHOLOGY
Therapy that focuses on growth, skills, and self-awareness.
RELATIONSHIP AS CATALYST
Self-awareness develops in relationship, not isolation.
EVIDENCE WITH HUMANITY
I lead with science and research, while staying connected to lived, human experience.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CLARITY
I help you make decisions with confidence, agency, and ownership.
WHOLE-PERSON CARE
Mind, body, relationships, and lifestyle all matter.
