Deborah Otto, MSW, LICSW

Deborah Otto is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, holding this license in MN since 1992.  She has an extensive professional history as both a clinical therapist and a director.  Her experience has been exclusively serving child/adolescents/young adults and their families.  In all areas of her practice she has encountered and worked with children/adolescents and their adoptive/foster parents.

For 10 years of her professional career she founded and served as director of an adoption agency.  This agency placed heavy emphasis on pre-adoptive education and post adoptive support, providing its adoptive parents with weekly support groups.

Deborah has a special interest in how children learn, and is sensitive to the effects of learning problems on the adjustment in daily life. She works with clients to gain clear understanding of how their strengths can be used to help manage their difficulties.

Deborah uses her relationship with adoptive/foster parents to validate their investment in their children while providing them psycho-education about developmental trauma, connecting with their adopted child, sizing expectation to developmental age, building strong support for self-care and validating their efforts in building a bond with their child.

Deborah’s practice often has resulted in the diagnostics and treatment of children with complex histories and needs.  She hold a wealth of experience in understanding developmental trauma and it’s results in things such as ASD, FASD, RAD, PTSD ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Depression and Grief and loss.