About Gary
Gary Youssef is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 22 years of experience. He supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, grief, trauma, and parenting or family concerns.
Background and approach
He also helps with sleep and eating problems, anger, self-esteem, career stress, ADHD, and coping with life changes. He uses direct, practical approaches in sessions.
Gary blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy to set clear goals and build skills. He also draws on Motivational Interviewing to help people find their own motivation for change.
Gary’s background includes long experience in outpatient behavioral health and work with children and families in hospital and school settings. He has served in roles that combined therapy and administration, and he has experience supporting military families in clinical settings.
That practical history shapes how he structures sessions and follows up on progress. Sessions focus on what matters to the person in front of him.
Gary helps clients break concerns into manageable steps and practices new ways of coping. He keeps language simple and action-oriented so busy parents can try strategies between meetings.
Outside of practice he is a father who enjoys athletics and cooking. He works from Ohio and provides services in English.
Gary holds California and Ohio licensure as a licensed marriage and family therapist - CA LMFT and OH LIMFT.
How Gary’s Approaches Work Online
Gary uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep, and problems that respond to step-by-step practice. Motivational Interviewing is also part of his work; it helps people find personal reasons to change and build momentum for goals.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about needs, goals, and preferences, then try methods that fit. Sessions may be adjusted over time based on what helps most and what feels manageable for the person.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls let people use visual cues and longer conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging work well for quick updates, brief coaching, or ongoing support between sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and keep momentum between meetings.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- California, Ohio
- Languages
- English