Debra
J. Manchester, L.C.S.W., is the original co-founder of The Family Therapy Institute
and has been the Executive Director for its twenty-seven years of service to
the Santa Barbara Tri-Counties. Her original vision is as important and timely
today as it was twenty-seven years ago, namely to provide counseling services
to children, youth and families from all walks of life and to provide education
and direction to promote healthy relationships and effective nonviolent means
of communication and conflict resolution.
Debra
received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology With Distinction from Stanford University
and her Masters in Social Welfare with a specialty in Family Therapy and Community
Mental Health. Prior to starting FTI, she was the Executive Director of Social
Advocates for Youth in the San Francisco Bay Area working with runaway teens
and children at risk. In addition to her role at FTI, she taught Family Therapy,
Couples Therapy and other clinical courses in the Masters program at Antioch
University for over 17 years and at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She has been
a consultant at numerous local agencies including The Santa Maria Youth and
Family Center, CALM, Child Protective Services, Sanctuary Psychiatric Center,
and other local schools and mental health facilities. She continues to provide
advanced training and supervision on various clinical topics.
Debra
believes that in order for therapy to be effective, the clinician must draw
on all levels of a person's functioning, working within the context of their
current relationships. Therapy includes addressing the client's social interactions,
communication and other behaviors, facilitating emotional healing, while respecting
each individual's unique cultural legacy and spiritual worldview. Some of her
work is with individuals, some with couples, and some is with whole families.
Her style is direct, providing a safe environment as well as specific help with
problem-solving giving clients new tools and techniques to treat themselves
and others with more compassion and better means of communicating.
Debra
has been married for over twenty years and she and her husband, Don MacMannis,
have raised two children and two dogs together and have partnered at home, at
the Institute, and in several books and articles. Her greatest loves include
animals of all types, hiking and communing with mother nature, painting and
drawing, and being with her friends and family.
The
Family Therapy Institute of Santa Barbara: providing psychotherapy to individuals,
couples and families for 25 years.