Deborah Cohen, M.A., M.P.H., LMFT

CA License #LMFT36373
Soul Wisdom Therapy 

After a difficult childhood that included the divorce of my parents, I looked forward to leaving home and being my own person. Once on my own, though, I felt an emptiness, despite my new marriage and the promise of the life I wanted. I divorced after only two years, realizing I was not ready to be a partner and parent. In my early thirties I remarried, but I still felt an emptiness inside, which led me to Eastern spirituality and meditation.

I was also interested in holistic health care and obtained a Masters in Public Health (MPH).  Subsequently, I worked in numerous public health settings for 23 years, providing  health education and trainings as I worked at the local, regional and state levels in Florida and California, offering support groups, education and training to people with HIV/AIDS and with blinding eye diseases and those who care for them, as well as offering nutrition and chronic disease education classes.

While working in public health settings, a few mystical experiences opened doors to a deeper connection with my core self, or soul wisdom. After obtaining an M.A. in Transpersonal Psychotherapy, (which focuses on the integration of mind, body, and soul/spirit), I began serious study with a handful of Eastern-oriented spiritual teachers. I also immersed myself in the mystical elements of Judaism and Christianity. Today–some 40 years later–my spiritual practice includes meditation, yoga, spiritual retreats, and being in nature whenever I can. I have offered a meditation group–Awakening to Spirit— for the past 20-plus years. (See Groups page)

Because of my personal work with my own issues, I chose to specialize in therapy areas that were a part of my own healing journey. For example, I work with eating disorders and anxiety because I struggled with binge eating and anxiety and did my own healing through work with my own psychotherapist.  I also work with PTSD and chronic pain because I experienced PTSD and longterm, chronic pain after being thrown from a horse at age 18 and breaking my arm and leg. I enjoy working on marriage and relationship issues because my husband and I found immense help in couples therapy.

The cat in the photo is Max, (or, Dr. Maxwell Katz).  He is my therapy cat. Max has been known to soothe clients when they are distressed.  He joins me at my virtual office these days, and used to join me at my old California office when I lived there until recently. Max has his own column in the Soul Wisdom Therapy Newsletter, which you can sign up for on the home page.  It is free!

My Therapy Approach:

I bring a profound connection with my “soul wisdom” to my work with my beloved clients. This intuitive knowing informs the deep work I do as I help you discover your own soul wisdom and inner guidance. I love being a holistic psychotherapist. I practice being mindfully present, grounded, compassionate and nonjudgmental with my clients.

I promise that I will fully attend to you and your needs and goals for counseling. Working with me, you will discover your path to your own soul wisdom, inner strength and new possibilities.

I now mostly offer online and phone psychotherapy, and will be offering online groups and workshops beginning later in 2024.

In May 2021 I moved from California, my home for over 30 years, back to Pennsylvania where I grew up and lived for 20 years.  (I am still a licensed California therapist and most of my clients are Californians.) I decided to return to Southwestern PA to be near my aging mother who is going blind, and other immediate family members.  But my husband and I are not winter weather people so we spend more than 6 months in Florida, our official new residence.  Never thought I’d be a “snowbird.”  I resided in Florida for a number of years in my twenties before moving to California

 

Specializations:

  • Trauma recovery
  • Sexual abuse recovery
  • PTSD
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Phobias
  • Grief and loss
  • Chronic pain and illness
  • Eating disorders
  • Couples and pre-marital counseling
  • Life transitions
  • Life and career coaching

Certifications and Experience:

  • Over 30 years as a psychotherapist
  • Certified in Life Coaching
  • Certified in EMDR
  • Certified as an I-Rest Teacher
  • Certificate in Trauma-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Certified in Heart Centered Hypnotherapy
  • Certificate in Somatic Experiencing (I am a “Somatic Experiencing Practitioner”)
  • Certified in group psychotherapy (through the American Group Psychotherapy Association)
  • Extensive training in  Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples and Families
  • Extensive training in Brainspotting
  • Have led the Awakening to Spirit Meditation Group in Sacramento and Davis for 18+ years
  • I served for over ten years on a professional team of complementary health practitioners of the Sacramento Sutter Downtown Integrative Health in Sacramento, CA and the Sutter Davis Integrative Health Center in Davis, CA.
  • Over 35 years of extensive study with spiritual teachers and mystics.
  • Extensive training and experience in energy psychotherapy methods, eating disorder therapy, EMDR, somatic (body-based) therapies, group psychotherapy facilitation and trauma-related therapies.

Education:

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Transpersonal Psychology, John F. Kennedy University, Pleasant Hills, CA
Masters of Public Health (MPH), University of South Florida

Start Your Journey to Soul Wisdom Today—
Click here to schedule your complimentary exploratory phone consultation.

Deborah Cohen, M.A., M.P.H., LMFT

Phone: 707-301-0252