Deborah J. McGee, MSNPA, CNP - Resident Intern - Therapist
For more than twenty years, Deborah enjoyed a career in the field of computer technology. During that time, she found herself being an attentive listener, confidant, and advisor to a wide diverse range of individuals from various cultures, including her business associates and colleagues, adolescents, single individuals, married couples, church leaders, and congregants, and of course, her friends. Ms. McGee’s desire to empower people to understand their dilemmas and resolve them led her to dedicate four years to a faith-based nonprofit, serving as a volunteer lay counselor, group leader, and mentor to formerly incarcerated and substance-addicted women. After functioning in a lay counselor capacity for so many years, God directed Deborah to return to school to obtain the formal training, skills, and credentials she would need to fulfill the requirements to become a professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the Nonprofit Sector.
Ms. McGee started her educational journey towards becoming a professional counselor by completing her undergraduate degree in 2017 at the faith-based Crown College. There she majored in Criminal Justice and Addiction Counseling and graduated with the distinction of Summa Cum Laude Honors. Then, to enhance her calling to be a servant leader in the Nonprofit Sector, she obtained a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport in 2019, where she maintained a 4.0 GPA. Currently, Ms. McGee is working towards her second Master’s Degree at Liberty University. With her wealth of life experience and, most importantly, the guidance of the Lord, now, in 2022, Deborah is entering the practicum and internship phase of her training here at Soul Care Christian Counseling.
Ms. McGee’s approach to counseling is individualized and integrative or stated concisely, holistic. Individualized in that Deborah employs the counseling theory or blend of theories best suited to empower her clients on their journey towards wellness, such as Cognitive Behavioral, Solution Focused, or Person-Centered Theories, and, with the client’s approval, the integration of spirituality or faith will be included in the counseling session. However, at the heart of the counseling session is the therapeutic relationship. Thus, Deborah believes that in order to effectively counsel individuals using any treatment modality, the establishment of a therapeutic relationship built on the foundation of authenticity, integrity, and most of all trust, is essential.
“My heart’s desire is to be one of many who, through the authentic display of the Lord’s love and compassion, His guidance and counseling insights, serves God’s wonderful but wounded people from all nationalities and cultures, experience a better quality of life.”
Ms. McGee is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC), the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (ACAC), and the International Association of Addiction & Offender Counselors (IAAOC), and a pending member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).
For more than twenty years, Deborah enjoyed a career in the field of computer technology. During that time, she found herself being an attentive listener, confidant, and advisor to a wide diverse range of individuals from various cultures, including her business associates and colleagues, adolescents, single individuals, married couples, church leaders, and congregants, and of course, her friends. Ms. McGee’s desire to empower people to understand their dilemmas and resolve them led her to dedicate four years to a faith-based nonprofit, serving as a volunteer lay counselor, group leader, and mentor to formerly incarcerated and substance-addicted women. After functioning in a lay counselor capacity for so many years, God directed Deborah to return to school to obtain the formal training, skills, and credentials she would need to fulfill the requirements to become a professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the Nonprofit Sector.
Ms. McGee started her educational journey towards becoming a professional counselor by completing her undergraduate degree in 2017 at the faith-based Crown College. There she majored in Criminal Justice and Addiction Counseling and graduated with the distinction of Summa Cum Laude Honors. Then, to enhance her calling to be a servant leader in the Nonprofit Sector, she obtained a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport in 2019, where she maintained a 4.0 GPA. Currently, Ms. McGee is working towards her second Master’s Degree at Liberty University. With her wealth of life experience and, most importantly, the guidance of the Lord, now, in 2022, Deborah is entering the practicum and internship phase of her training here at Soul Care Christian Counseling.
Ms. McGee’s approach to counseling is individualized and integrative or stated concisely, holistic. Individualized in that Deborah employs the counseling theory or blend of theories best suited to empower her clients on their journey towards wellness, such as Cognitive Behavioral, Solution Focused, or Person-Centered Theories, and, with the client’s approval, the integration of spirituality or faith will be included in the counseling session. However, at the heart of the counseling session is the therapeutic relationship. Thus, Deborah believes that in order to effectively counsel individuals using any treatment modality, the establishment of a therapeutic relationship built on the foundation of authenticity, integrity, and most of all trust, is essential.
“My heart’s desire is to be one of many who, through the authentic display of the Lord’s love and compassion, His guidance and counseling insights, serves God’s wonderful but wounded people from all nationalities and cultures, experience a better quality of life.”
Ms. McGee is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC), the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (ACAC), and the International Association of Addiction & Offender Counselors (IAAOC), and a pending member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).
