About
- Client-centered work
- CBT techniques
- Mindfulness practice
About Gail
Dr. Gail Masterson is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 28 years of clinical experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, parenting challenges, and life changes. She also works with issues such as self-esteem, intimacy-related concerns, anger, and career questions.
Her background includes a BA in Humanities, an MA in Marriage Family Therapy, and a PhD in Psychology. She has long experience with teletherapy and brief solution-oriented work from her time with David Viscott, MD. That history informs how she balances shorter coaching-style work with deeper, longer-term psychotherapy.
In sessions she listens and asks practical questions that help people notice options. She treats therapy like a collaborative effort - offering coaching, feedback, and questions to help clients test choices and move forward. She aims to help people find clearer steps when circumstances feel stuck or uncertain.
Her approach draws on client-centered methods, cognitive behavioral techniques, existential reflection, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. That mix is used to address everyday problems and larger life questions, including caregiver stress, family-of-origin issues, fertility or pregnancy concerns, and end-of-life topics.
Dr. Masterson has worked with a wide range of adults across the lifespan and with family-related concerns. Sessions focus on practical coping, clearer communication, and managing transitions so people can rebuild a sense of footing in daily life.
How sessions work
Approaches used and how online sessions work
Client-centered therapy focuses on the client's own perspective. The therapist listens closely and reflects what she hears to help people clarify their values and choices. This approach often helps with relationship stress, parenting decisions, and life direction issues.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It uses practical techniques to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and change unhelpful patterns. CBT is useful for stress, anxiety, anger, and coping with life changes.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Dr. Masterson discusses goals and preferences with each person and combines methods to fit their situation. That collaboration helps decide whether brief coaching-style sessions or deeper psychotherapy will suit current needs.
Her biography records extensive teletherapy experience, but current online session options should be confirmed before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove the need to travel to an office. Ask about available formats when you begin the matching process so sessions match your schedule and day-to-day demands.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
28+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, parenting concerns, self-esteem, and life transitions among other family-related issues.
What is her general therapy style?
Her style is collaborative and question-based, mixing coaching and psychotherapy to help people test options and take steps forward.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 28 years of clinical experience, including both short-term solution work and longer-term psychotherapy.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a California LMFT and practices from California.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she does not accept international clients.
What session formats are available?
The original biography notes extensive experience with teletherapy, but current session formats should be confirmed before booking.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location, and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.