Dr. Stephen Gunsallus

Dr. Stephen Gunsallus offers direct, respectful care grounded in practical therapy for people facing grief, trauma, and identity questions. He is an LPC with two decades of work in counseling, and he meets people where they are to help them make sense of difficult feelings.

He focuses on grief and loss and on concerns common in LGBT lives. He also supports people struggling with concentration and focus related to ADHD, mood concerns, and the aftermath of traumatic events. Hospice and end-of-life counseling are included among his areas of work.

Stephen earned a Doctor of Education in Pastoral Community Counseling in 2017 and earlier completed a Master of Arts in Counseling and a Master of Sacred Theology. He also completed seven units of Clinical Pastoral Education, including four done as a residency. These experiences shaped his practical, person-focused style.

In sessions he adapts conversations and plans to fit each person’s needs. Expect straightforward talk about coping skills, emotion regulation, and steps you can try between visits. He aims to bring sensitivity and compassion to hard subjects like shame, guilt, and forgiveness.

His approach blends client-centered listening with structured techniques when useful. That mix helps people facing grief, trauma, HIV or AIDS related concerns, and other mood or stress issues move toward clearer decisions and steadier days.

Approaches that translate to online sessions

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening with respect and helping people shape goals that matter to them; it is useful for grief, identity questions, and when someone needs a steady, empathetic presence. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts influence feelings and behaviors and teaches specific strategies to change unhelpful patterns, which helps with mood, anxiety, and concentration challenges. Dialectical behavior therapy, DBT, emphasizes skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication, and it can be helpful after traumatic events or for intense emotional reactions.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and then try methods that fit. That collaboration helps make sessions feel useful and focused on practical steps you can use day to day.

Session formats are not specified here, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example, shorter check-ins during a break, sessions without commuting, or choosing a format that needs less bandwidth. Licensed professionals can adapt these therapeutic approaches to remote sessions so the focus stays on steady support, coping skills, and managing grief or trauma in everyday settings.