Gary Youssef, LMFT, LIMFT
Practical, parenting-focused therapy for everyday family stress
Book with Gary- Years in practice
- 22
- Credentials
- LMFT, LIMFT
- Licensed in
- California, Ohio
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Gary
Gary Youssef is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 22 years of experience. He helps people facing stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, relationship and family concerns, depression, addictions, trauma, and grief. He writes plainly and focuses on practical steps parents can try between sessions.
Gary takes a straightforward style in sessions. He listens first, then suggests behavior-focused strategies parents can test. He often sets short goals and checks progress from week to week.
Background and approach
Sessions are collaborative and goal-oriented rather than long lectures. His background includes long clinical experience in outpatient child and family settings and work with military families in pediatric clinics. That work exposed him to a wide range of child behavior and family dynamics.
He uses that experience to help parents manage everyday parenting stress and more complex family issues. Gary draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people shift unhelpful thinking and routine behaviors. He also uses Solution-Focused Therapy to identify practical steps that make a difference quickly.
Motivational Interviewing is part of how he helps people find their own reasons to change. Outside of clinical work he has volunteered in school settings and coached youth sports. He is a father himself, which informs his practical approach to parenting challenges.
Gary practices in Ohio and conducts sessions in English using video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
What Gary works with
Everything Gary lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Gary helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
- Depression
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Gary lists
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How Gary’s Approaches Work Online
Gary commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy in online sessions. CBT helps people notice thinking and behavior patterns that cause stress and then practice small, concrete changes. Solution-Focused Therapy emphasizes identifying realistic next steps and building on what already works to create quick momentum.Choosing the right approach is a joint process. The therapist will talk about your goals and preferences, try methods that match those goals, and adjust plans if something isn’t helping. This collaborative way makes it easier to find what fits your parenting situation and lifestyle.
Online formats available include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or you want to avoid being on camera. Live chat or text messaging can be useful for brief check-ins, coaching-style guidance, or when a shorter interaction fits a busy day. These options offer flexibility to fit therapy into work, school, or family schedules.
Questions people ask about Gary
What kinds of concerns does Gary address?
He supports people with stress, anxiety, parenting and family issues, depression, addictions, trauma, grief, ADHD, and related concerns such as self-esteem and sleep problems.
How would you describe his therapeutic style?
He uses a practical, collaborative approach that focuses on small behavioral changes, short-term goals, and checking progress from session to session.
What is his professional background?
Gary has 22 years of clinical experience working in outpatient child and family settings and has supported military families in pediatric clinics.
What credentials and location are listed?
He holds LMFT and LIMFT credentials and practices in Ohio.
Which languages are supported and can international clients join?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with him?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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