Deborah Serani


Deborah Serani is an American psychologist and an award-winning author whose clinical specialty is depression. She is an adjunct professor at Adelphi University. Serani has published academic articles on the subject of depression and trauma as well as the award-winning books Living with Depression, Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers and Depression in Later Life: An Essential Guide. She is a columnist at Psychology Today and Esperanza Magazine.

Early life and education

Serani was born in Bethpage, a suburb of Long Island in New York. The oldest of three children, she experienced a debilitating depression as a teenager, attempting suicide at age nineteen. Serani took a medical leave of absence from college in order to recover. Upon her return, she directed her focus to the field of psychology and graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Hofstra University in 1982. Crediting psychotherapy as a life-saving experience for her, Serani obtained a Doctorate in Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1989, and a postdoctoral certificate in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy from the Derner Institute at Adelphi University in 2002.

Career

Serani has spent her career using her personal experiences with depression to inform her clinical work and research. Serani has been an invited speaker at national and international venues of the American Psychological Association and the and and Serani is a go-to media expert and has worked as a for the NBC Television show

Publications

Books

In her debut book Living with Depression, Serani talks about her lifetime struggles with unipolar depression and suicidal thinking, and how finding the right combination of treatments can lead to health and healing. Serani comments on the roadblocks of stigma and reminds us that the pain of depression and most mental illness arise not solely from the illness, but from the harsh response society has to people with these disorders. “One of the greatest things I’ve been able to do,” Serani says, “Is to let others know that there’s no shame in living with a mental illness. Help is out there – and you don’t have to suffer quietly or alone.”

Personal life

As a teenager, Serani was treated for depression and cites it as the inspiration for her education and profession.