Gail Carson-Webb, Psy.D.

Welcome to my website.  My  name is Gail Carson-Webb, and I am a licensed clinical psychologist.  My Chattanooga, Tennessee practice provides individual and couples counseling services to those in Chattanooga, Ooltewah, and other surrounding residential communities such as Ringgold, LaFayette, and Rossville, Georgia. 

You may be asking if counseling is right for you, or someone you love.  Are you seeking to . . .

• reduce your stress load--or manage it more effectively?
• find relief from anxiety?  
• improve your mood?
• find ways to increase your satisfaction with your life?    
• feel better about yourself--who you are and where you're going?
• find ways to assert yourself--without being unnecessarily submissive or aggressive?
• re-connect emotionally with your partner?
• improve your ability to handle "hot spots" in your relationships?
• understand and change old patterns of behavior that don't seem to be working anymore?
• deal with caregiver burnout?
• find the positives in your relationships again?

Psychotherapy can be an extremely helpful tool in all of the circumstances above.  Often, people are unsure of whether therapy is "right" for them, or if their problems are "bad enough" to warrant therapy.  Most people who seek counseling are experiencing ordinary life and relationship problems that just don't seem to be improving satisfactorily.  In truth, it is often better to seek therapy earlier in order to "head off" some unnecessary problems--and pain--rather than wait so late that there is no question about whether help is warranted.  By the time people ask themselves whether they could benefit from therapy--the answer is usually yes.

Therapy can:  

• provide a safe, supportive environment to discuss and explore your needs
• provide privacy in the assessment of your choices and problems
• help you identify why certain choices or behaviors are getting you what you don't want 
• help you formulate a plan to get out of an emotional or behavioral rut
• help you utilize your strengths in overcoming, reducing, or sidestepping problem areas
• facilitate building new skills to manage stresses and life problems
• help you identify your particular "inner voice" that knows--and is trying to tell you--what you want and need 
• help you improve the quality of your life   

Working on a problem alone, or with family, friends, or co-workers, is usually our first line of defense.  Examining our own problems--and having a support system--are huge aids that often get us through tough times.  But sometimes what we typically do just isn't enough.  When your efforts don't seem to be working, or when family and friends don't seem to help in spite of their efforts, additional action is advisable.  A trained professional can offer support and guidance in a way that clarifies your needs and an appropriate path in the face of confusion and conflict.  Experiences suggesting professional support is the next step include:

• revisiting the same old problems with no improvement
• becoming discouraged or feeling downright hopeless
• experiencing increased tension between yourself and your loved ones
• ineffectively managing responsibilities because of stress
• feeling like you're getting nowhere
• feeling like you're getting somewhere, but way too slowly
• experiencing changes in your energy, concentration, or eating/sleeping habits because of stress 
• feeling annoyed by or worried about the impact of problems on your day-to-day life, or
• worrying that the new conflicts in your relationship could result in signficant problems if they don't heal.

These are just some of the circumstances that suggest it's time to seek therapy.  And remember--when it comes to improving or fine-tuning your life and your happiness--pro-active is better!