About Deborah Black Lamble, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist · Los Gatos, California

Clinical approach
I work from a strength-based perspective across assessment, strategy and treatment, and my favourite part of this work is helping people reconnect with their own happiness. Much of my clinical expertise sits with anxiety, where I blend Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with mindfulness.
In my experience, people carrying long-standing depression or anxiety are often also carrying self-criticism, relationship strain, past trauma or achievement fatigue. Once those are addressed directly, the symptoms usually begin to ease.
My training includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness, art therapy, family systems, schema therapy, and positive behaviour interventions and support.
Why I became a therapist
I have always been more comfortable listening than talking. Even in middle school, people — friends and strangers alike — tended to tell me what was really going on for them, and I have never taken for granted how much difference simple presence can make.
My own experiences of grief and difficulty taught me that healing takes time and that change is genuinely hard. I have a lot of respect for the courage it takes to keep going while in pain. We rarely choose our circumstances, but we do get some say in how we meet them. My role is to walk alongside you toward the wholeness and growth you were capable of all along.
Professional background
I began supporting others as a volunteer in 2010, working with teens, families and adults — connecting them with community resources, educational programmes and support services. I went on to earn a Master's in Counseling from Santa Clara University.
Since then I have worked with people of all ages across corporations, schools, spiritual centres and private practice. From 2010 to 2016 I also delivered corporate training in employee appreciation, stress reduction, team building and cultural awareness. I served as a school-based therapist at Bagby Elementary School and as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee at Almaden Valley Counseling Services, completing comprehensive assessments and building individualised treatment plans.
Beginning in 2016 I worked with teens, parents, groups and families at Teen Therapy Center and Family Therapy Center, where I created and led a three-week workshop for parents of anxious teens covering psycho-education, emotional coping and relaxation skills, and ran process groups for teens navigating anxiety, friendship difficulties and depression. I find video therapy works well in my practice, and I opened my own private practice in June 2021.
Credentials
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #105164
- M.A. in Counseling Psychology; B.S. in Business Management
- TEAM Certified
- Fully trained EMDR therapist
Areas of interest
- Anxiety disorders — generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, high achievement, perfectionism and stress/life balance
- Relationship challenges — romantic, family and friendships
- Grief and loss
- Trauma
Get in touch
Phone: (408) 827-1006
Email: deborah@ascendingtherapy.com
15810 Los Gatos Boulevard, Los Gatos, CA 95032
How we work
Free consultation
A 15-minute call to hear what's going on and decide whether we're the right fit.
Initial assessment
A fuller session to map history, strengths and goals, and to agree on a plan.
Ongoing therapy
Weekly or biweekly sessions with skills practice between them, reviewed regularly.
