About Deidra
Deidra Bentley is a licensed professional counselor with 11 years of experience helping people through difficult transitions and persistent stress. She offers a calm, affirming approach where adults can talk about identity, anxiety, depression, and relationship concerns. Sessions aim to make day-to-day life feel more manageable and to restore a sense of direction.
Her work often focuses on LGBTQ+ concerns and the extra strain that comes from marginalization in society.
Background and approach
She uses straightforward, trauma-aware methods that acknowledge how past hurts affect the present. Mindfulness and attention to bodily experience are part of the work in sessions. Deidra draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and existential ideas to shape practical strategies.
Those methods are mixed to fit what each person needs rather than following a single script. Conversations might include skills practice, values clarification, and noticing patterns that get in the way. In practice she emphasizes collaboration and clarity.
She helps people name what matters to them, set small goals, and try new ways of coping between sessions. The focus is on realistic steps that can be used outside the therapy hour. People who come for help can expect direct communication and gentle challenge when needed.
The aim is stronger self-acceptance, clearer boundaries, and routine tools for handling stress, grief, addiction-related concerns, and changes in life circumstances.
Approaches that guide online work and practical steps
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) centers on noticing what matters to you and taking small steps toward those values even when difficult thoughts or feelings appear. It helps with anxiety, depression, and feeling stuck by focusing on actions that matter more than trying to eliminate distress. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches concrete skills to change unhelpful patterns. It is useful for anxiety, low mood, and stress that shows up in daily routines.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then tailor methods from ACT, CBT, DBT, mindfulness, or existential ideas. That conversation continues as therapy progresses so techniques can be adjusted when needed.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make counseling more flexible. Video lets people use visual cues for deeper conversation. Phone can fit a short check-in or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and messaging support quick check-ins, skills coaching, or ongoing reflection between sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and different life demands.
Questions people ask
What kinds of problems are addressed in sessions?
How would you describe the therapy style?
What is her professional background?
Where is the therapist located and what credential is held?
Which languages are available for sessions?
What session formats are used for online work?
How are fees and payment handled?
How does someone begin with this therapist?
What this counselor works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 11 years
- Licensed
- Georgia
- Languages
- English