Meet DEb Houston

My journey began 28 years ago working on Distress lines, and Mindfulness and Breathwork certification, culminating with a designation from McMaster University in 2011. I was received into the College of Psychotherapy in 2018.

My practice would evolve to include; trauma, intimate partner violence, grief, depression, anxiety and families in conflict. Technology has become a battleground in many homes and my most recent course taught me about one of the newer addictions to technology. A course I completed in 2021 in California has further developed my work with couples.

I was raised on the Scarborough Bluffs - tough, rugged and expansive. I married very ‘young. likely because I had a limited idea of who I was. Becoming ‘his wife’ and ‘their mother’ afforded me an identity. I have two kids…(cough) my daughter identifies as ‘middle aged’…can you imagine and a son soon to approach the same. That marriage and family struggled for 22 years

When I left that marriage I was at a loss to know where to begin. Learning who I was was my beginning. What did I like? What did I not like? What was I good at and not as good at? I think I had lost the ability to dream. Understanding what I wanted to develop in myself was the best I could muster. I loved people; what informed their choices? Why this and not that?

I found a spiritual community where I learned meditation. I took a myriad of courses and read lots of books. I studied mindfulness and became certified in Breathwork in the United States. (Please give a listen to a sample breath session posted here on my site).

Helping people build new attitudes in their lives has been so satisfying. I’ve identified the importance of engaging in these conversations at a much earlier age to help alter paths and avoid future trauma. Through Dr. Stephany Covington I was trained in a program she developed that works with young girls from the ages of 11 to 18… VOICES, It explores trauma, social norms and attitudes and how best to shift the conversation in ways to engage and better support young women.

As an Employee Assistance Counselor my experience expanded to include working with children and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, grief and most recently gambling and gaming. Gambling has the highest suicide rate of all addictions and gaming involves similar behaviors to gambling. The gaming industry utilizes similar technology to gambling. I engaged in a significant course study on gaming to better help families understand how technology - such a large part of our lives, has become the battleground within many homes.

What I have experienced in my life and in my practice has anchored the awareness that often as children we were sent to our rooms to remain until we could be ‘presentable’ The life we live was never meant to be figured out alone. It is best explored in conversation with others. Could we talk?

Most recently I have developed and launched a program for people seeking to find their way forward - a new path. I have nurtured this idea in my heart for many years. It is a six week series, held outside (Ideal for these times of Covid). Using digital cameras provided, we explore the world and our ideas through a new lens. It is profound to realize when shifting the lens in which we see the world, we gain a new perspective to shift how we see ourselves in it. The next series is to began June 2024.

So, what’s left to say? If you’re in a place that needs someone to walk with you while you unearth the truth of your spirit and soul… I’ll walk with you… and together we can figure it out. To begin our journey please contact me at debhouston_dlh@yahoo.ca to make arrangements for your complimentary 15 minute consult. Could we talk?

You deserve it.

Deb