I might have hesitated to come and see you because of shame, the financial burden, the unknown ability of the specific therapist to be willing and able to help me.

I contacted you for marital problems, work problems and fear that I was becoming an alcoholic.

I felt our work together was the most productive activity I have ever undertaken to move forward with my personal issues and problems. I was unable to see the forest for the trees.

From you I received so many no-nonsense ideas about coping and even resolving many issues… many practical and doable coping techniques and a more objective understanding of my life as a whole, my more immediate problems.

Your suggestion, at the very beginning, that I research the ages of my parents when they married, when they had their children… this helped me better understand their level of maturity when they began their family and helped me to be more forgiving towards them.

Your suggestion that I write my life story – in one or a few lines for each year – gave me great insight into my own evolution. I also liked your practical and educated feedback, on a regular basis, which I could apply to each issue troubling me.

The EMDR work we did was absolutely amazing to me (compared to many other times I tried to resolve major traumas in my life). I had some unique and profound breakthroughs which gave me insights I would never have expected, or even hoped for. I have found these very beneficial to my self-esteem and prior feelings of helplessness over some traumatic experiences.

I have, and will continue to recommend Debra to many people I know living in the Paris region.

I will always appreciate your having called me while I was in the hospital several years ago. I may never have understood how much you cared about my well-being until that moment. You certainly helped me out of a very tough spot with that call. Bless you for that.

You’re a terrific therapist and a loving person. Sometimes it’s the best medicine.

– M., executive assistant, 62 years old

I would have hesitated to go see a therapist and talking with a non-native English speaker, even one who is fluent in English, unless he/she had been trained in an English speaking environment.

I am now aware how important culture values and norms are, and I think it was very helpful to talk with someone who understood exactly where I was coming from in terms of values and behavioral expectations.

I was unhappy in my marriage and was concerned about my husband who I thought was suffering from untreated Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

The result of our work together was that I understood my husband’s personality much better which helped me adjust my expectations and accept the limitations of our relationship.

The time I spent in therapy was extremely difficult and stressful for me but it definitely helped me define the choices that I had and gave me the strength to make difficult choices had the situation come to that. I felt much less a victim of my circumstances and much more empowered to make changes if I had to.

I liked the way Debra listened non judgmentally, that she offered her opinion when she thought it would be helpful, and kept pushing me to move forward without rushing me. I felt we made progress, but at my pace.

I liked Debra’s sympathy, her humor and her realism. She is extremely professional and although her practice is in her home, she kept a rigid distinction between her home and family, and her work. She was focused, dedicated and caring.

I would recommend Debra (and have already done so) because I think she is a very good therapist.

In the end I thought we explored everything pretty thoroughly and it was now up to me to make the choices that I had identified – and I would have done so had my spouse not gotten sick. That has changed him (thank goodness), changed the marriage and changed our circumstances. I don’t think that there was much more that you could help me with. I also think that I was then equipped to work it out for myself.

I am very grateful for the time that you spent working with me.

– S., lawyer, 59 years old

For the first 25 years of our marriage, my wife and I had a very happy, loving relationship and very strong connection with our children.

I had a very severe mid life crisis which almost destroyed our relationship. At this point I realized that my wife and two sons were the most important things in my life. I needed to make serious behavioral changes if I was going to keep them.

My wife and I worked with marriage consulters over several years and things improved. Then 2 years ago, I had an ugly passive/aggressive phase and we consulted with Debra.

I appreciated her approach. She spent the time to listen to us and to develop an opinion of us as a basically, happily married couple and as good parents. When we started to focus on the issues, she asked tough questions which required much self reflection for both of us. As we progressed, she made some very wise observations and gave good, practical advice.

Our time with Debra was instrumental to our reestablishing our previous warm, happy, loving relationship.

As a 63 year old man, it was not obvious to start the whole consulting process to solve relationship problems. However I certainly would recommend it if you have a strong, sincere desire to save what is important to you.

Debra was very flexible in when and how she could consult with us. I certainly would recommend her without reservations.

– L., business executive, 58 years old

I think the only thing that might have held me back from seeing a psychologist was pride. Knowing something went wrong, but not wanting to understand the reasons why (and that they might not have been absolutely my fault) would likely have stopped me.

I contacted you to talk about a bad breakup that also may have affected my job standing/performance.

The results of our working together was a stronger understanding of the whole of what happened. A clearing of the feelings and the aftermath, getting over the ending and the disappointment.

I just liked the relaxed atmosphere. I think I understood the idea of having a neutral view of the situation, and one that pointed out some of my issues…

We did this away from work. I really liked your neighborhood. There was a comfort in your library/reading room that I greatly appreciated. Plus, we didn’t do this with me on the stereotypical “couch”.

I would recommend you without hesitation. You lead a person into opening his eyes about the how of what happened, and why.

– S., computer technician, 38 years old

For me the question was really finding someone with whom I had a good fit, and that cannot be established until after a first meeting.

The only thing that could have made me hesitate to come see you in particular was the location. It’s true that being outside of Paris (even on the metro line) makes things a bit more difficult. I had to be dedicated to come once I moved to the 17th arrondissement, as it is at the complete opposite end of the city.

After moving to France for my job in a large corporation, I began to experience anxiety, relationship issues, and the return of a dormant eating disorder.

I sought your counsel for these issues, as I hoped to speak freely and honestly with another American that could understand the stress of adapting to a new culture.

I appreciated your approach right away, as you are very direct, and yet accessible. You have a style which is no-nonsense, clear, and down to Earth. I felt at ease with you right away, which enabled me to progress quickly.

Thanks to the work I did with you, I was able to deal with my anxiety and better enjoy my time living in Paris.

I definitely recommend Debra, as she aided me immensely on my personal journey, and provided me with insights and tools to deal with both recurring and punctual problems once my therapy sessions had ended.

Honestly, I thought you were pretty expensive, and if I hadn’t felt that there was a good connection and that we were making progress, I probably would not have continued.

Given the French system, which does not cover psychotherapy, it is a big expense to pay 200-400€ per month for therapy. If I had needed weekly therapy, this would have been completely unaffordable.

Despite the cost and the location, I paid the fee simply because I had an experience with a cheaper psychologist, and she was terrible!

I think your main strength which helped me was your firmness and directness. I just can’t stand working with really flowery, ‘it’s all ok’, overly-fake-sweet therapists, and it does not work for me. What I need is someone that will ask the hard questions and tell me things that I don’t always want to hear.

I really appreciated your approach, as it made me confront my issues head on and stop hiding things from myself or making excuses. I had one other therapist like this in the past (a German woman living in Wisconsin), and you two were definitely the people with whom I’ve made the most progress.

So, like I said, it was a very positive experience.

– B., marketing & sales professional, 47 years old

My husband and I had always thought we had a very good marriage but after a destructive mid-life crisis, infidelity, the empty nest syndrome, moving four times in five years and a severe passive aggressive phase, even a very good, solid marriage needed some guidance.

Debra was recommended to us by a Counselling Service and we contacted her immediately for an appointment.

From our first meeting, we were comfortable with her. She took the time to listen to (and hear) “our story” and helped us to confront the difficult issues we faced. She was good at pinpointing the problems and was very objective in her comments, advice and suggestions.

After a few appointments and following her suggestions, our marital relationship began to improve considerably and we were returning to the happy couple we had been before.

I would definitely recommend Debra as a consultant for any relationship problems one might have.

I particularly appreciated that she was flexible in her scheduling and even did one or two telephone counselling sessions with us.

Both my husband and I are very appreciative of her expertise and efforts on our behalf!

– T., art history specialist, 56 years old

A recent reform in regulations in my field meant that I, as the owner of the company, had to face a mountain of paperwork that I didn’t feel qualified to tackle. This caused me to feel completely overwhelmed and hopeless with no idea how I would meet the deadline and save my business.

I started to feel depressed and very anxious about my future. The sessions with you helped me to calm down and see things more clearly.

Eventually I started to make better decisions and see opportunities that could solve my problem which I wasn’t able to see before due to the overwhelming anxiety. I really felt that you were listening attentively to my issues because I came away from each session with an insight as well as some practical tips on how to move forward.

After a while I ended up also alluding to the fact that some aspects of French culture were difficult for me to deal with and your straightforward and practical feedback was very helpful.

I feel like I was really lucky to have found you at that specific point in my life. Having a therapist who speaks English and who knew how to make me comfortable enough to open up made all the difference. Thank you for all your help.

– K., English teacher, 39 years old