Carleen Gates, LICSW - Therapist in Alabama

About Carleen

Carleen Gates is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker who focuses on family and parenting concerns alongside stress and mood-related issues. She writes plainly and listens closely, helping people talk through grief, anxiety, depression, and challenges tied to bipolar disorder or ADHD. Her approach aims to make therapy feel practical and usable for daily life.

Carleen brings a calm, direct style that many find encouraging when they want clear steps forward.

Background and approach

Carleen uses straightforward, client-centered methods that let people set priorities together. She combines techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy to help clients notice unhelpful patterns and try new behaviors. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are introduced when people need tools for emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Her background includes a decade working in mental health across settings such as in-home care, school-based services, group therapy, and telehealth. This range has shaped a flexible way of working that adapts to each family's life and schedule. Carleen emphasizes respect and dignity in every session.

Sessions move at a realistic pace and focus on what the person or family can use now. She is candid and compassionate, offering direct feedback with warmth. The goal is steady change that fits daily routines and real-world pressures.

People who want clear, practical work on family problems, forgiveness, guilt, money worries, self-love, or women’s issues may find her style helpful. Carleen practices in Alabama as an LICSW and conducts sessions in English.

Therapeutic approaches that translate well online

Carleen uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can reduce anxiety and lift mood in everyday life. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is also part of her work and focuses on clarifying values and learning ways to act on them even when pain or worry is present. When stronger emotion skills are needed, she brings in elements of dialectical behavior therapy to teach practical tools for regulating feelings and handling crises.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. She will talk with clients about goals and preferences, try methods that fit the situation, and adjust the plan as progress unfolds. The therapist treats clients as partners in deciding what works best for their family or personal needs.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make scheduling easier. These formats let people fit sessions into busy family routines, revisit notes or skills in text-based formats, and use video when face-to-face interaction is helpful. The aim is to make therapy accessible and flexible so clients can use what they learn in their daily lives.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does she address most often?

She works with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, compassion fatigue, bipolar disorder, and ADHD, with additional attention to family problems, forgiveness, guilt and shame, life purpose, money issues, self-love, and women’s issues.

What is her general therapy style?

Sessions are described as caring and client-centered with a candid, direct tone. She focuses on practical steps and tools that clients can use between meetings.

How much experience does she have?

She has ten years of experience in the mental health field working in settings such as in-home care, school-based services, group therapy, and telehealth.

What credential and location information is provided?

She holds the LICSW credential with licence number AL LICSW 4396C and practices in Alabama.

What languages are used during sessions?

Sessions are offered in English and international clients are not currently accepted.

In what formats are sessions offered?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.

How are fees and payments handled?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

What are the first steps to begin working together?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist’s availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Family conflicts
Grief

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 10 years
Licensed: Alabama
Languages: English

Next step

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