Consultation

The ways in which I have interfaced with Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing communities are diverse. This enables me to consult on a large number of subjects related to the deaf and hard of hearing worlds: culture, education, service needs, and a wide range of matters associated with the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health related concerns in deaf/hard of hearing individuals.

My work in the deaf and hard of hearing communities began in 1981. Since then, it has taken me to numerous cities across Texas and around the U.S. The following is a short sample of some of my past roles and previous experiences:

Patient liaison: coordination of services and case consultation between a university Speech and Hearing Clinic and its Psychological Services Center
Statewide-consultant: the development of agency policies and procedures to serve deaf clients in all of the facilities within the Alabama Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation
Outpatient services psychologist: evaluate and provide individual/group/marital/family therapy to children and adults
Inpatient clinician: evaluation of patients in a psychiatric hospital setting using psychological, neuropsychological, and behavioral assessments
Forensics therapist: interface with psychiatrists and representatives of the judicial system at inpatient facility serving convicted criminals
School for the Deaf: Supervising Psychologist at a state residential school providing staff training, case supervision, psychological evaluations, and crisis intervention
Adjunct faculty: educate and train psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to work with deaf/hard of hearing clients
Program development: Chairperson of several task force groups established for the purpose of developing services for deaf/hard of hearing in hospitals, communities, and schools where none had previously existed
Community education and parent training
Independent contractor to school districts: evaluate and make recommendations for services to individual deaf students
Media consultant: coach to film actors and directors on deaf culture and sign language
Researcher: Conduct studies to determine the success of deaf programming and report those findings at professional conferences

At the present time, I serve deaf clients in my private practice, and am also a consultant to the Ear, Nose and Throat Center at the Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires a greater sensitivity towards, and enhanced responsibility to, providing accessible services to deaf and hard of hearing communities. If you, your program, or your facility should need advice and guidance to adequately meet the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people, I am eager to be of assistance.

Whether you require staff training, program development, general consultation, or specific psychological services, I am here to provide that help. Whatever level of support is needed, please contact me. I invite all questions big and small!

I visited Dr. Lyons for several years through middle school into highÂ school, and saw noticeable improvements in my physical health. I have notÂ had chest pains or migraines in years!
M.O.Â - Adolescent Therapy Patient
At the time of my son's first visit with Dr. Lyons, he had few friends, was lacking basic conversational skills and had low self esteem.Â Dr. Lyons not only taught him the social skills to be successful in middle school and high school, Â but she gave him the skills and self confidence to be successful in life. Â It was hard work, but the benefits have been priceless.
R.W. - Adolescent Therapy Patient
There is no one more significant in the village that helped us raise our four children (two boys and two girls) than Dr. Lyons. Beginning with grief counseling when our youngest was in the third grade through four varied adolescent experiences with all their twists and turns, she worked wonders through her professional blend of knowledge, patience, creativity, and nurture. She taught us that individual challenges are always family matters. And now that our kids are grown and moving on, we all believe that our family is deeply indebted to Dr. Lyons for the helping hand she repeatedly provided each and every time we needed it.

D.G. and N.G. - Family Therapy Patients
I'm extremely pleased with the correct diagnosis (not ADHD) and treatment my child received under Dr Lyons care. Â She is now a college student and able to enjoy life without all the extra challenges she faced before treatment.
S.O. - Adolescent Therapy Patient
After searching the United States for a psychologist to evaluate our deaf daughter, we travelled to Austin for Dr. Lyons to test her.Â Our daughter, in addition to being deaf has multiple disabilities, she is a real challenge.Â Dr. Lyons met that challenge, she was caring and creative in her testing. She was on the floor with our daughter because that's what it took to get the task done!Â Dr. Lyons has always been there as a support for our family.
C.E. - Deaf Child Psychological Evaluation
I sought the assistance of Dr. Lyons as a college student who was struggling with the demands of a rigorous curriculum. Dr. Lyons did a thorough assessment of my attention difficulties and I was able to get a diagnosis and report that not only informed the way I navigated my studies but also could have enabled me to receive the appropriate support from my University if I chose to seek it. Throughout the process, Dr. Lyons validated my concerns about the learning process and helped me to better understand myself as a learner. Â My experience with her was invaluable and I believe strongly that the self-awareness that Dr. Lyons helps foster is a powerful tool for any student. Â Dr. Lyons is a compassionate and dedicated professional who truly has made a difference in my life.
Gratefully,
R.S. - Adult Therapy Patient
Dr. Lyons was an effective and compassionate therapist for my needs. She provided me with valuable insights and ongoing support to encourage my personal growth.Â Â She communicates effectively in ASL and has a deep understanding of Deaf Culture and the challenges that Deaf clients face in society.
S.J. - Deaf Therapy Patient
Debbie helped our family through a frightening, sad time with her thoughtful, supportive approach to the collaborative process and amazing ability to translate our sometimes very negative comments into useful dialogue.Â Post-divorce, my children and I are doing very well and Debbie continues to be excited to hear about our welfare.Â She is a gem!
HM (Happy Mom) - Collaborative Divorce Case
My son saw Dr. Lyons for almost 3 years between the 4th and 6th grades. Â He benefitted tremendously from her counsel during this time. Â Dr. Lyons was easy to work with and was spot on in her assessment of my son and where he was struggling. Â At the end of each session, we debriefed on, not only on how that week's session had gone, but also on how the strategies she and my son were working on were translating into his world outside of her office. Â I appreciated that she was holistic in her approach and really wanted to work with his school to ensure the techniques and strategies were utilized in that environment, as well. Â She often helped me to understand how to talk to the school to seek out the right kind of assistance from them. Â I would and have recommended her to others who are looking for Clinical Psychologists for their child.
K.G. - Child Therapy Patient
During a time when my identity was wrapped solely around the needs of others, Deborah Lyons provided me tools to develop an stronger, confident and self-loving person. On the heels of an international move, she helped me navigate the complexity of my divorce and custody battle. Her expertise and emotional support provided me with an understanding of how events in my life led to an unhealthy and frustrating situation. By learning to trust my intuition I gained a sense of autonomy and empowerment I didn't realize existed before meeting her. My current success isÂ a directÂ and measurable result of therapy sessions with her.
S.N. - Adult Therapy Patient
I asked my daughter what her favorite thing about going to see Dr Lyons was. Â HerÂ answer was that she got to play board games after school with her. The gameÂ collection is amazing and helped my daughter relax when she was first starting withÂ Dr. Lyons.
E.R. - Child Therapy Patient

I sought the assistance of Dr. Lyons as a college student who was struggling with the demands of a rigorous curriculum. Dr. Lyons did a thorough assessment of my attention difficulties and I was able to get a diagnosis and report that not only informed the way I navigated my studies but also could have enabled me to receive the appropriate support from my University if I chose to seek it. Throughout the process, Dr. Lyons validated my concerns about the learning process and helped me to better understand myself as a learner. My experience with her was invaluable and I believe strongly that the self-awareness that Dr. Lyons helps foster is a powerful tool for any student. Dr. Lyons is a compassionate and dedicated professional who truly has made a difference in my life.
Gratefully,
R.S. - Adult Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

There is no one more significant in the village that helped us raise our four children (two boys and two girls) than Dr. Lyons. Beginning with grief counseling when our youngest was in the third grade through four varied adolescent experiences with all their twists and turns, she worked wonders through her professional blend of knowledge, patience, creativity, and nurture. She taught us that individual challenges are always family matters. And now that our kids are grown and moving on, we all believe that our family is deeply indebted to Dr. Lyons for the helping hand she repeatedly provided each and every time we needed it.
D.G. and N.G. - Family Therapy Patients March 1, 2016

I asked my daughter what her favorite thing about going to see Dr Lyons was. Her answer was that she got to play board games after school with her. The game collection is amazing and helped my daughter relax when she was first starting with Dr. Lyons.
E.R. - Child Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

I'm extremely pleased with the correct diagnosis (not ADHD) and treatment my child received under Dr Lyons care. She is now a college student and able to enjoy life without all the extra challenges she faced before treatment.
S.O. - Adolescent Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

Dr. Lyons was an effective and compassionate therapist for my needs. She provided me with valuable insights and ongoing support to encourage my personal growth. She communicates effectively in ASL and has a deep understanding of Deaf Culture and the challenges that Deaf clients face in society.

S.J. - Deaf Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

Debbie helped our family through a frightening, sad time with her thoughtful, supportive approach to the collaborative process and amazing ability to translate our sometimes very negative comments into useful dialogue. Post-divorce, my children and I are doing very well and Debbie continues to be excited to hear about our welfare. She is a gem!
HM (Happy Mom) - Collaborative Divorce Case March 1, 2016

After searching the United States for a psychologist to evaluate our deaf daughter, we travelled to Austin for Dr. Lyons to test her. Our daughter, in addition to being deaf has multiple disabilities, she is a real challenge. Dr. Lyons met that challenge, she was caring and creative in her testing. She was on the floor with our daughter because that's what it took to get the task done! Dr. Lyons has always been there as a support for our family.
C.E. - Deaf Child Psychological Evaluation March 1, 2016

My son saw Dr. Lyons for almost 3 years between the 4th and 6th grades. He benefitted tremendously from her counsel during this time. Dr. Lyons was easy to work with and was spot on in her assessment of my son and where he was struggling. At the end of each session, we debriefed on, not only on how that week's session had gone, but also on how the strategies she and my son were working on were translating into his world outside of her office. I appreciated that she was holistic in her approach and really wanted to work with his school to ensure the techniques and strategies were utilized in that environment, as well. She often helped me to understand how to talk to the school to seek out the right kind of assistance from them. I would and have recommended her to others who are looking for Clinical Psychologists for their child.
K.G. - Child Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

During a time when my identity was wrapped solely around the needs of others, Deborah Lyons provided me tools to develop an stronger, confident and self-loving person. On the heels of an international move, she helped me navigate the complexity of my divorce and custody battle. Her expertise and emotional support provided me with an understanding of how events in my life led to an unhealthy and frustrating situation. By learning to trust my intuition I gained a sense of autonomy and empowerment I didn't realize existed before meeting her. My current success is a direct and measurable result of therapy sessions with her.
S.N. - Adult Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

At the time of my son's first visit with Dr. Lyons, he had few friends, was lacking basic conversational skills and had low self esteem. Dr. Lyons not only taught him the social skills to be successful in middle school and high school, but she gave him the skills and self confidence to be successful in life. It was hard work, but the benefits have been priceless.
R.W. - Adolescent Therapy Patient March 1, 2016

I visited Dr. Lyons for several years through middle school into high school, and saw noticeable improvements in my physical health. I have not had chest pains or migraines in years!
M.O. - Adolescent Therapy Patient March 28, 2016

<< Prev

Next >>

512-459-1272

About

Recommended Resources