About Debra
Dr. Debra Sandler is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, ADHD concerns, addictions, and relationship difficulties. She speaks plainly and focuses on practical steps people can use right away.
Her style is calm and approachable, aimed at reducing overwhelm and improving daily functioning. She listens first, then helps clarify what matters most to each person. Sessions often include building simple routines, practicing new ways to respond to triggers, and improving how people talk with those around them.
Background and approach
She emphasizes skills you can try between sessions. Debra earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. She has worked in independent practice for over 30 years and brings long experience to common life struggles.
She holds the LCSW credential and is licensed in Florida and New Jersey. Her methods draw on a mix of approaches such as cognitive behavioral work, acceptance-based strategies, attachment-focused ideas, and skills from dialectical behavior therapy. That mix helps with mood shifts, impulsivity, and relationship patterns.
She also supports people facing career stress, grief, and problems with sleep or eating. Clients can expect a steady, nonjudgmental presence and hands-on tools. The work is collaborative: she helps set goals and adjusts techniques to fit each person’s rhythms and responsibilities.
Sessions aim to be useful and doable, not abstract.
Therapeutic approaches and online flexibility
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) invites people to notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that align with their values. It can help when worry, low mood, or ADHD-related distractions get in the way of daily goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors to change mood and functioning; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and sleep or eating concerns. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns affect current connections and communication, which can be helpful for intimacy and relationship problems.Deciding which approach to use is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they try techniques and adjust the plan so it fits daily life and responsibilities.
Online therapy in this practice is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video allows face-to-face conversation and behavioral practice. Phone sessions can be shorter or easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text-based messaging work well for quick check-ins, coaching-style support, or continuing skills between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, and other commitments.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 39 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey, Florida
- Languages
- English
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