Deborah Salant, LICSW

Deborah Salant is a licensed independent social worker with 33 years of clinical experience. She brings a calm, practical style to sessions and focuses on helping people manage anxiety, depression, relationship strain, and addictions. She meets people where they are and uses clear goal-setting to guide progress.

She begins by gathering a brief history of the current concerns and any factors that led someone to seek help. That background helps shape a straightforward plan for weekly or biweekly sessions. Meetings aim to build a trusting connection so people feel able to speak honestly and work toward change.

Deborah draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and on client-centered principles to keep the conversation focused on the person’s needs. She also uses emotionally focused and psychodynamic approaches when those perspectives help with deeper relationship or attachment issues. Motivational interviewing is available when people are working on changes like reducing substance use.

Her caseload has included chronic depression, anxiety, substance use, fertility-related stress, and caregiving for aging relatives. She also supports people dealing with grief, intimacy concerns, eating and sleeping problems, and parenting challenges. She works with a wide range of sexual orientations and identities.

Sessions are offered in English and French and can be scheduled to fit different rhythms of life. Deborah values collaboration and practical steps so people can see small improvements and build on them over time.

How Deborah’s Approaches Work Online

Deborah often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; this approach is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and many everyday stresses. She also uses client-centered therapy, which emphasizes attentive listening and reflecting back what someone says to help them find their own solutions. Emotionally focused ideas are used when relationship patterns and attachment issues are central concerns, helping people notice feelings and respond differently.

Finding the right method is a collaborative process. Deborah will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and the problems they want to address, then recommend ways of working together. She adjusts the mix of approaches as progress is made and as new issues emerge.

Online formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when visual cues matter. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for quick reflections, between-session support, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options aim to increase flexibility and help people stay consistent with care.