Grief counselors and therapists in Springfield, MO

I am a therapist and strategic behavioral‐health leader with more than a decade of experience supporting youth, families, and adults navigating complex trauma, transition, and systems involvement. My background spans emergency shelter work, foster‐care transition programs, community‐based counseling, and clinical supervision of multidisciplinary teams.

Clients often describe me as steady, collaborative, and deeply attuned to the stories people carry. I bring a trauma‐informed lens to every interaction, honoring the resilience people develop in the face of adversity. My work is shaped by years of program development, crisis intervention, and advocacy for underserved communities — and by a belief that healing grows in environments where people feel seen, safe, and respected.

As a nationally certified, Licensed Professional Counselor who has been practicing for over 16 years in Missouri and 26 years overall in the field of mental health, I believe prioritizing mental health is key to happiness and stability in life. My goal is to provide you with a safe place to feel seen and heard.

I began my career in community mental health in 2010. I completed my Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Evangel University. Prior to becoming a therapist I worked as a nurse for 13 years. This background leads me to take a holistic, whole-person approach to my practice. I work with children, adolescents, and adults and have specialized in treatment of trauma, ADHD, and child-parent conflicts.

I believe every person deserves to feel heard, understood, and supported. With more than 20 years of experience in the mental health field, I have had the privilege of working with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families facing a wide range of challenges. I earned my Master's Degree in Community Counseling from Pittsburg State University and am a Licensed Professional Counselor and Missouri Associate Alcohol Drug Counselor II.

Throughout my career, I have worked in juvenile and adult justice systems, drug courts, schools, and community behavioral health settings. These experiences have given me a broad understanding of the many factors that influence emotional well-being and personal growth. I work with concerns including anxiety, depression, ADHD, grief, anger management, substance use, relationship challenges, and adolescent behavioral issues. My goal is to provide a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where clients feel comfortable exploring their concerns and building a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Hi, I'm Debbie Landis, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker on KS and MO with more than 25 years of clinical practice and experience supporting children, families, and adults through life's challenges. I earned my Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas and specialize in working with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relationship concerns, and the lasting effects of childhood experiences. I believe meaningful change happens when people feel safe, heard, and accepted. My goal is to provide a supportive space where you can build insight, strengthen resilience, and move toward the life you want.

As a licensed therapist serving Missouri, I specialize in supporting individuals who are navigating through complex emotional landscapes. My professional approach centers on understanding the unique challenges of communication, family dynamics, and personal growth. I have worked with clients to address depression, anxiety, trauma, and interpersonal conflicts. I strive to create a compassionate and affirming therapeutic environment.

I have a personal trauma history and rather than have it “define” me, it has “refined” me. The mercy I received from my God and my wife, is the mercy that I freely give. I specialize in treating individuals who have experienced all manner of trauma. Although I am trained in several modes of therapy, CPT, EMDR, TFCBT, CBTSP, and TANT, I am a phenomenological person centered Rogerian therapist with an eclectic style, as no single mode of therapy can help every individual. It is genuine transparency (transporting you into me), Intimacy (into me I let you see), vulnerability, empathy, validation, and heart invested relationships that give people the desire, courage, strength, ability, will, hope, and belief to change / grow / heal. I have 40 plus years of therapy experience with individuals, couples, and groups. I have spent the last 40 years working with the most vulnerable members of society, striving for justice and peace on their behalf. I wholeheartedly believe that individuals change through the power and influence of love and unconditional positive regard. Every problem in the world is a relational problem and genuine empathy, love, and compassion are the instruments of healing. Just as many people have been damaged by key, primary relationships, one experiences healing through safe, trusting, loving relationships and I’ve devoted my life to being a healer.

If you keep finding yourself in the same arguments, the same shutdowns, or the same loop of feeling more reactive than you want to be, you are not broken. There is often a younger version of you driving the bus in those moments. I work with teens, adults, and women navigating relationship strain, family of origin patterns, anxiety, and grief, including the kind that does not involve a death. Clients describe me as warm, steady, and easy to talk to, and they often say I notice what they did not realize they were sharing.