George Deegan, LCSW

George Deegan focuses much of his practice on supporting people who are navigating grief after losing a child, a friend, a parent, or a close long-term partner. He recognizes how common it is to feel overwhelmed by conflicting and confusing emotions and often begins by offering space for those feelings to be heard rather than minimized. He emphasizes that each person’s grieving process is unique and resists the push to hurry healing or insist that someone simply “move on”. The primary aim is to help clients take ownership of their grief and all that accompanies it, and sometimes what is needed most is permission to let the process unfold in its own way. Clients are encouraged to direct how they choose to grieve and to set the pace that feels right for them.

In addition to grief work, his practice includes support for addiction, intersex birth differences, anxiety, and trauma. Early sessions concentrate on building a therapeutic relationship and allowing trust to develop naturally until a client feels comfortable revealing deeper vulnerability. He works collaboratively with clients, believing that combining perspectives leads to better approaches for problems that once seemed insurmountable. His approach draws on practical methods to help clients address symptoms and patterns while honoring their individual experience.

People have often confided in him since his high school years, and he attributes his effectiveness to a balance of life experience and compassionate understanding. He describes himself as a flawed human who brings empathy and steady listening to the work. Over the years he has continued to receive letters of gratitude from clients he supported decades ago, and he modestly responds, "I lit the candle you did all the work!" He is credentialed as an LCSW, which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker.