Welcome! I admire your tenacity and vulnerability.
I am glad you are here as sustainable change starts with you. Your narrative and worldview are authentic and valuable. The adversities we encounter can be overwhelming, resulting in isolation, stagnation, and disconnection with ourselves and others. It takes deep courage and strength to ask for help and acknowledge that at times we cannot do it alone. We all need a secure and empathic platform to process and talk about our experiences, emotions, and needs. You do not have to be alone in your struggle, I am here to help.
My name is Deborah. Growing up with a foot in two cultural worlds, the qualities of compassion, empathy, perseverance, and resilience are innate and deeply rooted. The hardships I faced and experienced provided depth and vibrant color(s) on my canvas, shaped who I am today, and created opportunity/growth to see the strengths and beauties in others. The trajectory of my life and career invariably involved visions of having a successful practice, where individuals felt safe, secure, and understood. I carry years of experience helping individuals like yourselves find hope and peace again.
My hope is that this may be a rich and raw growing experience that invites you to feel validated and seen. I will work collaboratively with you to provide the support, insight, skills, and tools you need to shift with the ever-evolving world around us. As a result, you will capture emotional depth and connectedness with your partner and/or loved ones. You will acquire a life with deep purpose. If you allow yourself to be open to and trust in the therapeutic process, you may see authentic beauty unfold in your life and your relationship with others. With that being said, I look forward to creating meaningful shifts with you!
Dr. Deborah Holt is a fully licensed marriage & family therapist and board approved supervisor. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy at Texas Woman’s University, where she graduated in the top 5% of family therapy students. She completed her clinical training at the Department of Psychiatry Family Studies Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She has done extensive work with couples and families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, specializing in a highly effective therapeutic model. Dr. Holt acquired training and experience with children and adolescents with mental health and behavioral problems in the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient setting.
Dr. Holt is a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She is also an active member of Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She was the top-producing therapist at her former group practice and received accolades in the efficacy of her clinical work in agency. Dr. Holt’s doctoral research and dissertation is titled, “The Moderating Role of Relationship Satisfaction and Parenting Quality on Negative Child Behavior in Re-Partnered Couples.” She presented on varied topics, including attachment and adult attachment, re-partnered couples, remarriage, stepmotherhood, blended families and stepfamilies issues, children of divorce, interpersonal romantic relationships, self-care and self-compassion, and neuroscience.
Dr. Holt specializes in high conflict couples and families. Her passion lies in helping couples caught in a vicious cycle to find healing and connection again. It is not about “good or bad” or “right or wrong” partner, but the attachment injuries couples experience and the negative dance that they get caught in that hinders belonging and security between partners. These attachment injuries and wounds leave couple members feeling hurt, alone, fearful, and disconnected, paralyzing the growth of the relationship.
Intentional care and maturation of your relationship with your partner is imperative for the relationship to be meaningful and long-lasting. It is imperative to know what injuries influence your dynamics and interactions with your partner. Insight regarding yourself and your partner provides an opportunity to engage in new habits and patterns, in order to step out of the vicious cycle that you both are stuck in. When you are able to really hear and better understand your partner, it creates bond and security. Veritably, when you acquire deep connection and safety with your significant other, it is easier to overcome life stressors and acquire the most desired version of yourself/relationship. Love, which involves emotional safety and connectedness, has the ability to heal the wounds and injuries that couple members experience and carry. You and your partner need emotional depth and connection like the air you breathe.
With the divorce rates for those entering second or subsequent marriages are profoundly greater than those in first marriages, Dr. Holt is devoted in offering premarital counseling to couples who are remarrying (whether remarriage may be for one or both partners). She carries a strong focus on high conflict couples and families; divorce and remarriage; blended families and stepfamilies; stepparent issues; co-parenting and parenting; infidelity; children and adolescent depression, anxiety, and su***de; and parent-child dyads.
Dr. Holt’s clinical training and therapeutic modality involves Emotionally Focused Therapy, which provides depth in her ability to help couples just like you who are experiencing disconnection and lack of security capture emotional connectedness and secure attachment again. She believes her clients are the experts of their lives. Dr. Holt takes a collaborative, direct, and empathic approach in her work with couples, families, and individuals.
As a systems counselor, Dr. Holt’s deep appreciation and excitement for working with families is inevitable. With three little ones at home, she knows how unique each family member can be and that every family has a unique story to tell.
Even if your parents, kids, or partner are displaying “symptoms” that feel difficult for you to navigate or understand, you can make small and powerful changes that could impact your family and the dynamics/interactions within your familial system. Change is possible and paramount - You must shift with the developing world around you or you become cemented, creating havoc and distress on your relationship and system. Family of origin is necessary to understand as it colors who you are and your worldview. Much of her work has been with parent-child dyads.
Dr. Holt is also fluent in Korean - She has worked extensively with Korean parent-child dyads and couples where at least one members’ native language is English at her practice. She would be happy to integrate this into the therapeutic process and work if you need/upon your request.
