Deborah Jost-Beauford

If you are navigating depression, anxiety, or the heavy weight of trauma and PTSD, you don’t have to carry it alone. Whether you are facing a major life transition, struggling with self-esteem, or working through deeply rooted relationship issues, I am here to help you find your footing.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor in Chicago with over 15 years of experience as a psychotherapist, I specialize in guiding adults and seniors through some of life's most complex and vulnerable chapters. I offer dedicated, specialized care for perinatal mental health—supporting you through the intense emotional landscape of pregnancy and postpartum life. I also provide a deeply compassionate space for those navigating the unique challenges of acute and chronic pain, as well as individuals confronting end-of-life fears and grief.

I specialize in working with women in the reproductive, pregnancy, prenatal, postpartum and menopause timeframe of their lives. This is a time in a woman's life that is often labeled as blissful and exciting but it can be one of the most challenging transitions a woman experiences. I aim to normalize this complex experience, and help you manage through this adjustment. I have personal experience going through my own struggles with pregnancy, and perinatal mental health with 2 children. This has helped me become a more empathic, passionate and dedicated women's. My goal is for clients to feel heard, respected and unconditionally supported in their adjustment to parenting. I very much value the time that the women who are taking the time to give themselves an outlet, self-care, and an open forum to be supported by another mother. Please know you are not alone, you are not to blame, and you will get better

My style is warm, relational, and deeply collaborative. Together, we will clarify your wants, needs, and goals to actively reframe the narrative of your life. We will take small, manageable steps to understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected, while identifying and practicing therapeutic tools that increase your self-confidence and self-compassion.

In our therapy work together we achieve this by combining evidence-based approaches, we address both internal cognitive patterns and external life stressors:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): We will collaborate on worksheets and practical techniques to identify, challenge, and reframe unhelpful, anxious, and intrusive thoughts, altering the cognitive patterns that keep you stuck.
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): We will actively navigate the transitions in your life by examining and improving your communication patterns, relationship dynamics, and social support systems.
• Mindfulness & Somatic Tools: We will bring awareness to the mind-body connection, tracking physical sensations to help you understand, regulate, and soothe your nervous system responses.

You are the guide, and there is zero judgment in our space. You can say the things you are too afraid to say out loud to anyone else. I meet you exactly where you are, honoring your unique identity, culture, and experiences.

Your first session is entirely about taking a deep breath and getting comfortable. Starting therapy can feel intimidating, so my priority is simply to provide a warm, safe, and completely non-judgmental space where you feel heard. Your first session is a full intake, but it feels more like a relaxed conversation than an exam. I will ask a lot of questions to understand you, not just the problem. I'll ask questions about what brought you to therapy, your history, what you've tried, and what you want to change. I want to understand the bigger picture. You decide how much to share. The session ends with a plan. I'll explain what we will start with and why. From there, we will create a treatment plan: a working road map for how we will work together on what brought you in, including how often we will meet and what progress might look like.