PuttingFamilyFirst

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CG Portrait of Carly Gelb
Online therapist

Carly Gelb

Helping people find direction and steady progress

Credentials
LCSW
Experience
8 years
Licensed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Carly

Carly Gelb is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on practical, down-to-earth therapy. She aims to help people name what feels stuck and build small steps forward. Sessions are collaborative and paced to each person’s needs.

Carly has eight years of experience practicing in Illinois and works in English. Carly often uses acceptance and commitment ideas to help people notice their values and take action that matters. She combines that with client-centered listening so people steer the session and feel heard.

Background and approach

Cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness exercises are also available to address thoughts, behavior, and stress in the moment. Her work covers many concerns including anxiety, depression, addictions, grief, trauma and relationship difficulties. She also supports people facing parenting stress, sleep and eating problems, career transitions, ADHD, bipolar challenges, and compassion fatigue.

Additional focus areas include attachment and commitment struggles, codependency, control issues, and family problems. Carly brings tools such as guided meditation, journaling, worksheets, and creative activities into sessions when they fit the person’s preferences. She emphasizes practical skills and experiments clients can try between meetings.

Conversations are nonjudgmental and aimed at helping each person move toward what matters to them. For those ready to begin, Carly asks people to share their goals and try approaches that feel right. She works with a range of life concerns and adapts methods to individual needs.

Her background and style suit people looking for a straightforward and compassionate therapist.

Therapeutic approaches and online options that fit your life

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small, values-driven actions despite difficult thoughts or feelings. It is useful for stress, anxiety, and life transitions where motivation and meaning feel hard to find. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on noticing and testing unhelpful thoughts and changing patterns of behavior. CBT is commonly used for anxiety, depression, sleeping and eating issues, and many everyday problems.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Carly uses a collaborative process to decide what fits a person’s goals and preferences. She listens first, then suggests techniques to try, adjusting as progress is made and needs change.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls and phone sessions let people have real-time conversations. Live chat and text-based messaging provide shorter check-ins and written reflection between meetings. These options make it easier to use therapy consistently around parenting, work, and other responsibilities while trying the approaches described above.

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 kinds of problems does she address?
Carly works with a broad set of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and relationship issues. Her listed focus also includes parenting, grief, sleep and eating problems, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and compassion fatigue.
What is her therapy style like?
She uses a client-centered approach so the person guides the pace of sessions. Techniques often include acceptance and commitment strategies, CBT tools, mindfulness exercises, and informal creative methods like journaling or guided meditation.
How much experience does she have?
Carly has eight years of professional experience working as a therapist in a variety of settings. That experience informs the range of tools and approaches she offers.
Where is she licensed and located?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in Illinois with license number IL LCSW 149.023733 and practices from that region.
Which languages are available for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are offered?
She provides a range of online formats including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire. After that you can schedule sessions according to the therapist’s availability.

Next step

Talk to Carly

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