Therapist profile
Dr. Gail Masterson, LMFT
California
Dr. Gail Masterson, LMFT - Relationships and Stress
Continue with GailKey details
- CredentialsLMFT
- LicenseLMFT, California / 24543
- NPI1871181263
- Experience28 years
- LanguagesEnglish
- LocationCalifornia
About
- Anger and conflict
- CBT and mindfulness
- Life transitions
About Gail
Dr. Gail Masterson is a California LMFT with 28 years of clinical experience. She holds a PhD in Psychology and an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, self-esteem concerns, anger, and life transitions.
Her approach blends practical conversation with focused techniques. She uses Client-Centered work to listen and reflect what matters to the client. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to spot patterns in thoughts and behavior that keep problems going. Mindfulness and Motivational Interviewing are used to build moment-to-moment awareness and readiness for change.
Gail frames difficult moments as times to notice options rather than failures. She encourages people to tell their story and then tests small steps that can move things forward. Sessions can be short-term and goal-focused or more open-ended depending on the concern and progress.
She has experience working with caregiving stress, aging and geriatric issues, fertility and hospice concerns, and the specific strains that follow disasters and major life shifts. Communication problems, family of origin dynamics, intimacy-related issues, parenting questions, and career stress are also part of her caseload.
Her background includes early work with brief solution-oriented teletherapy and longer-term psychodynamic exploration during advanced training. That mix informs a flexible style: listening first, then offering strategies and questions that help clients find what works for them.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online sessions
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting back what matters to the client. Online sessions let the therapist and client talk through current problems, clarify values, and set practical next steps using that shared understanding.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how thoughts and behaviors keep problems in place. In remote sessions this often means identifying patterns, trying brief behavioral experiments between meetings, and reviewing what changed. Mindfulness Therapy teaches attention to present-moment experience and can help with anger, anxiety, and stress by building awareness of bodily signals and reaction habits.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and together decide which combination of methods to use. That collaborative process makes it easier to adjust direction if a different approach seems more helpful over time.
The practical benefit of online work is fitting sessions into a busy life. Confirm the current session formats before booking, as those details can change. Many people find remote sessions easier to schedule, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove the need to travel, which can make consistent work on anger and related issues more manageable.
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, low self-esteem, anger, parenting challenges, career issues, and life changes.
How would you describe her therapy style?
She listens in a client-centered way, then uses practical tools like CBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to try small changes.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 28 years of psychotherapy experience, including both brief teletherapy work and longer-term psychodynamic training.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a California LMFT and practices from California.
Does she work in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions scheduled and paid for?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What do I do to begin?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a 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 unsafe, use the crisis numbers.