- Stress and anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- CBT and DBT skills
About Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn Downing is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Alabama with 41 years of experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, depression, and other life changes. She also supports people dealing with ADHD, grief, self-esteem, career questions, and intimacy-related issues.
She spent part of her career in a public agency and has worked in private practice for many years. People have come to her by self-referral, employee assistance programs, and family court referrals. That background means she is used to practical, everyday problems as well as complex histories.
Her approach draws from several therapies. Gwendolyn uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy to address relationship and attachment concerns. She applies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change patterns of thinking and behavior. She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills when people need help with emotion regulation and coping.
She uses trauma-focused tools such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing when trauma is part of the picture. Choice of strategy is collaborative and depends on the person's needs and goals. Sessions are meant to be straightforward and focused on real-life problems and skills.
Gwendolyn emphasizes practical steps over labels. She helps people build coping strategies, improve communication, and manage symptoms that interfere with work, relationships, or daily life. Her long experience includes supporting people through transitions like divorce, caregiving stress, chronic illness, and career shifts.
How her therapeutic approaches translate to online work
Attachment-based work focuses on patterns in relationships and attachment. Online sessions can use conversation and exercises to identify how past relationships affect current ones and practice new ways of connecting. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts, feelings, and actions. In remote sessions CBT can include tracking thoughts, setting small behavioral experiments, and practicing new skills between meetings. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) supplies concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness that can be taught and practiced across sessions.Deciding which approach to use is a shared process. The therapist will review symptoms, goals, and preferences and suggest methods that match those needs. Clients often try a combination of strategies and adjust them as progress is made.
The practical benefits of working online include fitting sessions around school or work and avoiding travel time. Online work can make it easier to keep appointments during busy weeks or while managing caregiving duties. Confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are offered and how scheduling and the subscription billing will work.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
41+ years
Listed in
Alabama
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, ADHD, grief, and related issues.
What is her general therapeutic style?
Her style mixes practical approaches. She uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques depending on what the person needs.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 41 years of experience, including work in a public agency and many years in private practice.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licensed in Alabama and practices there.
Can someone who speaks another language work with her?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy through BetterHelp is for adults aged 18 and over and is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.