Deanna Doherty, LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist and the founder of Shifting Tides Psychotherapy, a virtual group practice serving clients in New York and Connecticut. She specializes in trauma, grief, anxiety, and substance use, integrating Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy as the foundation of her clinical work. Deanna earned her Bachelor’s in Social Work from Sacred Heart University and her Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University. Before opening her practice, she served as the Director of Clinical Trainings at a private practice and later as the Director of Evidence-Based Training in a trauma-focused organization, where she trained clinicians in EMDR and IFS. Her approach is deeply shaped by her own lived experience with grief and substance use, which informs the compassion, clarity, and groundedness she brings to her work. She is committed to helping clients understand their internal systems, build self-trust, and access the resilience needed to navigate life’s most overwhelming moments. In addition to her clinical work, Deanna provides supervision and consultation to therapists seeking support in building sustainable private practices. She works closely with high-achieving individuals, caregivers, and those navigating complex family dynamics, relationship challenges, and life transitions. Deanna believes deeply in the power of the therapeutic relationship. She combines humor, authenticity, and evidence-based care to create a safe space where healing feels possible.

If you’re reading this, you might be carrying something heavy- grief that feels complicated, trauma you’ve tried to outrun, anxiety that keeps hijacking your days, or patterns you’re tired of repeating. Maybe you’ve learned to appear “fine” while feeling anything but. If so, you’re exactly who I work best with. My approach is grounded, collaborative, and deeply human. I use EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help you understand the parts of yourself that are hurting, protecting, shutting down, or trying to keep everything together. You don’t have to do this alone, and you don’t have to keep surviving the hard way. I’m not a passive therapist who nods silently. I’m engaged, honest, and gentle: someone who will validate your pain, honor your lived experience, and also challenge the patterns that no longer serve you. I believe healing is not about “fixing” you, but about helping you access the strength, clarity, and resilience you already carry. My own experiences with grief and substance use shape the empathy and connection I bring into the room. I know what it’s like to navigate the impossible, and I believe repair, relief, and transformation are possible- even when it hasn’t felt that way in a long time or ever.