Hello, I am Deanne (DeeDee) Ginns-Gruenberg a licensed nurse and psychotherapist.
I work with all ages, but specialize in treating children (preschool and up), teens, and young adults who have experienced anxiety, grief, trauma, and difficult life transitions.
Therapy
An essential element of my practice is establishing a strong therapeutic relationship in a safe and nurturing environment. When working with children or teens, I make every effort to involve parents and families in the healing process.
My approach is diverse, as I incorporate a variety of therapeutic principles in order to customize therapy to each unique individual’s needs. For example, I’ll use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) with anxious or depressed teens and adults and cognitive-behavioral play therapy (toys, books, puppets, sand tray, etc.,) with anxious or depressed children to help them feel successful in managing their emotions.
Results
Throughout the therapy process, traumatic memories can be acknowledged and managed in more adaptive and healthy ways. The end result is that pain subsides, control is restored, and hope is activated for the future.
The goal is to empower clients to access reparative energy, to acknowledge and express their pain in a variety of verbal and nonverbal ways, and to reduce the power of a traumatic event or relationship, so that healthy choices become real options.
2019 MIAPT Outstanding Play Therapist Award Recipient
How it all began
I began my education in Nursing School at Michigan State University. Immediately following graduation, I enlisted in the Peace Corps to serve in South America. After I returned, I joined Children’s Hospital in Detroit to work with terminally ill children.
It was then that I realized that children don’t always open up to people they are supposed to, but rather to individuals that make them comfortable. This is when my passion for the mental health field grew and I enrolled in the Counseling program at Oakland University.
Self Esteem Shop
In 1991, my husband, Harry and I bought a small independent bookstore called the Self Esteem Shop. The shop was originally located in Royal Oak, Michigan and ultimately we moved to Clawson, Michigan.
After 28 years of owning and operating our family bookstore, and pouring our lives and love into the business, the time had come to sell our bookstore. In January 2019, we sold the business to a perfect team of ladies who are taking our mission forward and ensuring the future of the Self Esteem Shop.
The past 28 years have taken us to nearly every state. Harry and I have formed wonderful relationships with our customers, conference participants, conference organizers, and authors that we will always treasure.
The Self Esteem Shop has been more than simply a business. It’s been an opportunity to help therapists and individuals in need. It has been our way of helping our community mourn, grieve, heal, recover and thrive. We hope you will continue to patronize the Self Esteem Shop under its new ownership and continue the legacy we have built.
While Harry handled the business side of the operations, I continued to maintain a private practice, stayed up to date with current trends in mental health and worked with Harry at the shop.
Academia and Published Books
In addition to my work at the Self Esteem Shop, I was honored to teach an introductory course on play therapy at Oakland University.
In 2008, Cathy Malchiodi and I co-authored “Trauma, Loss & Bibliotherapy: Healing Process of Stories in Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children.”
In 2011, I wrote “Effectively Incorporating Bibliotherapy into Treatment for Child Sexual Abuse in The Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse: Identification, Assessment, and Treatment.”
Let’s Connect
Most days you can find me spending time with my loving family and friends. I love reading, bike riding, playing tennis and gardening.
I would love to get to know more about you. Please contact me online, by email or by phone at (248) 872-8506
DeeDee
