About Gail
Dr. Gail Masterson is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 28 years of clinical experience. She practices in California and brings a calm, curious presence to sessions.
She often helps people who feel stuck by listening closely and asking practical questions to move things forward. She offers a mix of short-term coaching and longer-term psychotherapy depending on what a person needs. In sessions she combines client-centered listening with therapies that focus on thoughts, present experience, and life meaning.
Background and approach
That means she helps people notice patterns, try small changes, and reflect on values that matter to them. Her work has included video and telephone-based therapy over many years, and she has experience with people facing grief, relationship strain, work stress, and life transitions.
She also supports those coping with caregiver stress, aging and geriatric concerns, fertility and pregnancy challenges, and feelings of isolation or emptiness. People turn to her for help with anxiety, depression, anger, parenting stress, ADHD, intimacy-related problems, and career decisions. She uses practical talk, guided reflection, and goal-focused steps so clients can try things between sessions and see what helps.
Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, a Master of Arts in Marriage Family Therapy, and a PhD in Psychology. Dr. Masterson emphasizes collaboration - she listens, offers options, and tailors the approach to each person's needs.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Dr. Masterson commonly integrates client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in online sessions. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely, reflecting what matters to the person, and helping them feel heard so they can find their own answers. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at how thoughts and behaviors interact and offers practical steps to try between sessions to reduce anxiety or lift mood.She also draws on existential ideas when clients are wrestling with life purpose, meaning, or major life changes. That approach encourages honest questioning about values and choices to help people make decisions that fit their priorities. Choosing an approach is collaborative - she will work with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, preferences, and the issues they bring to therapy.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and visual connection. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth or comfort with being on camera is a concern. Live chat and text messaging work well for quick check-ins, brief coaching, or follow-up between sessions. These options make scheduling more flexible and help therapy fit into busy lives.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also listed
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Parenting issues
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self esteem
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 28 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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