Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn, PhD.

I earned my PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in what used to be called the School of Social and Systemic Studies. It is now called the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Florida run by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling. My license # is MH4298. I am a State of Florida Certified Hypnotherapist and a State of Florida Approved Supervisor for Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy. Please check their web page for me to verify these credentials at Health Licensee Search by plugging in my last and first names.

New York Daily News, 1970

I am a Clinical Member of both the American Association For Marriage and Family Therapy which is the professional organization for marriage and family therapists and the Florida Association for Marriage & Family Therapy. On the national site, by going to Therapist Locator and plugging in 33021, my office zip code, you can see a web page they have set up for me.

I am also a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association where you will soon be able to see me in their directory. I am a member of and subscribe to the ethical principles of The International Society for Mental Health Online.

I have further specialty in abuse and trauma and have taken it upon myself to learn and grow professionally in these areas through participation in the South Florida Society for Trauma-Based Disorders (SFSTBD--website coming in the near future), The International Society for the Study of Dissociation, the Florida Society for Clinical Hypnosis, and a post-doc internship with the Women's Institute for Incorporation Therapy.

December, 2006 Holiday Party at the
White House

I entered the field of healing 30 years ago and have been active in it ever since. My orientation to therapy is holistic in that I believe therapy must consider the mind, emotions, body, and spirit of people as well as their family and work contexts.

Although I do general psychotherapy, my specialty is verbal, physical, and emotional abuse: healing the pain of past history, coping successfully with current relationships, anger management, parenting to prevent repeating history with one's children, the many symptoms of an abuse history--addictions of all kinds, PTSD, borderline so-called disorder--and workplace sensitivity to communication styles.

Although my focus is abuse, I am also listed on The National Association of Marriage Friendly Therapists--because I believe in marriage!

Out of a need to help adult survivors of abuse, I developed an expertise in hypnosis which I have successfully applied to other client needs such as chronic and acute pain from physical causes.

I enjoy writing and speaking for both public and professional audiences.

"I don't believe people who seek help are 'sick.' The environment brings out the best and worst in us. I think people do a marvelous job of adapting--given what they are up against."

-Dr. Deb

"To help people, I don't tell them what to do. I feel people are more expert in their own lives than a stranger can be. Instead, I try to turn the picture around to give them a new perspective, a new way of looking at their situation."

-Dr. Deb