Gwendolyn Downing, Therapist, AL

Licensed

Online Counseling

(82 reviews)

MA, LPC Gwendolyn Downing

Provides online counseling through BetterHelp

Mental health conditions are real, common and treatable.

And recovery is possible.

Gwendolyn Downing is an experienced, licensed Mental Health Professional who specializes in affordable online therapy offered through our partner, BetterHelp.

More about me

Licensing: MA, LPC Years in Practice: 38 State: Alabama

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Alabama, with 36 years experience. I worked in a public agency for several years and have been in private practice for 17 years. I have helped individuals who have been referred through Self-referral, Employee Assistance Programs, and family court systems. I have had the privilege of helping people with Depression and Anxiety, Chemical and Process Addictions, Trauma and abuse issues, Family and Life issues, as well as other challenging situations.

I utilize several therapeutic strategies, including Motivational Interviewing, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-focused Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy. The strategies utilized are determined by the unique needs of the person with whom I am interacting. I believe each person is unique and presents with unique needs and unique strengths for addressing the identified concerns.

My focus is on people, not labels or statistics. I make it my practice to encourage and elevate people to be the success they were meant to be.

It requires courage and commitment to reach out for help, and I would be honored to be part of your journey. I look forward to working with you!

About online counseling

Online counseling allows you to receive care from an online mental health practitioner via phone, video chat, or instant messaging. It is convenient for those who may have trouble getting to or would prefer not to have in-person therapy appointments. Starting at $65 per week, online counseling is generally more affordable than in-person counseling. A study by researchers at University of California, Berkeley found that online counseling can be just as effective as face-to-face therapy while being more convenient, affordable, and accessible.

Issues: Stress Anxiety Addictions Trauma and abuse Self esteem Relationship issues Family conflicts Grief Intimacy-related issues Eating disorders Parenting issues Anger management Career difficulties Bipolar disorder Depression Coping with life changes Coaching Compassion fatigue ADHD
Languages Spoken: English

Services offered

Professional, confidential, and judgment-free

When you tap CHAT NOW a new window will open and you'll be directed to a simple form that will help start the conversation.

Please note: It can take up to 24-48 hours to be matched to a therapist.

Reviews for Gwendolyn Downing

Overall Rating

Rate Gwendolyn How was your experience?

Overall

She is amazing and very insightful! I never feel judged and she puts you at ease.

Shes Great

Gwen is an attentive, caring and genuinely professional counsellor. It is evident that she has had much experience in counseling and her sound understanding and wise advice are always on point and eye opening. She truly is a treasure and a rare find!

I cant express enough how grateful I am for Gwendolyn. She has helped me work through so many issues and leave an abusive situation with a malignant narcassist after years of multiple failed attempts. Her patience, understanding, compassion, wisdom, strength, never giving up on me - all have helped me to change my mindset and break free from toxic thoughts and people, limiting beliefs, and unhealthy habits. Im a different person now. Thank you Gwendolyn for everything you do! I hope anyone who is unsure about therapy takes a step to do it - its a step towards chosing yourself and a better life for yourself.

Gwendolyn is anyways helpful. She listens and provides great feedback and helpful perspective that lets me reframe my journey in a positive light.

Gwen has been wonderful attentive and compassionate. I have felt encouraged at each of my sessions with her

Gwendolyn is very kind and understanding! She always gets back to me in a timely manner!

Gwendolyn is wonderful. Lots of times, things come up outside of therapy session. I message her and she ALWAYS gets back to me in a timely manner. She sees the good in everything. And most of all, she is nonjudgmental and understanding!!

Gwendolyn is awesome, she has taken a patient and kind approach with me. She is respecful, professional, and provides a positive outlook that I appreciate. I'm lucky to have found Gwendolyn, and to be able to benefit from her expertise and support.

It's nice to have a caring counselor in your corner.

I switched therapists a few times starting out on BetterHelp. I have been meeting with Gwendolyn for almost 2 years now, and I look forward to our meetings every week! She is always so supportive, and gives great insight. I can go into my session feeling so down on myself, and leave feeling so proud of myself and refreshed. I have come so far since first meeting with her, and I don’t think I could ever thank her enough for what she’s helped me learn about myself and accomplish!

Gwendolyn has been wonderful! She has listen to my struggles, gave me some suggestions, given gentle recommendations & listened a lot! She has sent me some worksheets that have been helpful with specific struggles I am facing. She is kind, compassionate, honest & helpful! I am thankful to have crossed paths with her!

Gwendolyn is extremely knowledgeable, professional, and respectful. She's always on time and responds to messages in a timely manner. She's also been very understanding and empathetic.

Gwendolyn has been helpful in addressing my needs and understanding my own need for patience with myself. She provides an excellent objective viewpoint to help reframe things so I can see how I've progressed.

Helped me a lot! Understanding situations logically from a neutral perspective ,and giving great advice which was exactly what I needed

I have been seeing miss Gwendolyn for almost two years. She is my favorite part of the week and I look forward to my sessions. She is honest and reassuring.

I've been working with Gwendolyn for over year now and I've made lots of progress with her. She is a great counsellor!

Gwendolyn is exactly the help I need. She's been willing to listen since day 1, and has given me the support I've needed to meet the changing challenges of my life with ADHD.

Gwendolyn is an absolute legend. I really look forward to our chats… she listens and helps me when I’m ready to be helped. At any time, I can quiz her about this, and that, or whatever it is, and she’s clearly a very wise and experienced therapist, she smart and we can cut through the bull, when ever I want and now I’m a fuller of person for it. I highly recommend her as long as you don’t take her away from me. If you do, that will be hell to pay otherwise good luck with your therapy.

Gwendolyn has been extremely supportive during this part of my healing journey, and integral to the progress I've made. She understands trauma more than most other professionals I've encountered. Thank you Gwendolyn!

We've only had 2 appointments so a but early for review. Gwendolyn has emailed me several times to keep in touch. I appreciate that.

Gwendolyn is fantastic.

Gwendolyn helped me greatly with communication and setting boundaries. She also has good perspectives as to why I think the way I do. Being from the same state I’m from, she understood the culture I grew up in. She’s great and I would recommend her.

I was unsure of the online aspect of counseling but it has been quite helpful. Having a safe place to feel seen and heard has made navigating expat life easier. Gwendolyn is a good listener and adapts sessions to my needs each time.

Gwen is a patient and understanding person. She gives me tools to help myself and brakes down emotions and thoughts that I have with ptsd and anxiety in a logical and healthy way to help me work through these parts of my self. She is a great support system and I would recommend her to anyone !

Miss Gwendolyn is super helpful with helping me on my journey.

I have been with Gwendolyn for a couple of weeks now. She is very kind, patient and very nice to talk to. She makes your feel comfortable and listens to what you have to say. She understood my troubles and taught me ways to navigate around them with the help of different techniques. It has been a really good experience, and i would highly recommend her.

Gwendolyn is very kind and a great listener. It truly felt like a judgement free zone where I could share how I was feeling. She is very understanding and provided me with a great first therapy experience.

Gwendolyn has given me a lot of tools to help turn my life in a positive direction. She is always so supportive and really understands the main things affecting my life. I’ve used 3 therapists before I started talking with her, and she’s the one who has made the big difference. She’s definitely a keeper. I look forward to our conversations each week.

Great listener and very professional.

I’ve had two sessions with Ms. Downing and she has been wonderful. She has a vast knowledge of all my different issues and offers great suggestions to practice during the week. I love that I can text her and get a super fast response. 10-10-10-10-10!

Gwendolyn has helped me dearly in my day to day practices. Very understanding. Very present and fair. Highly recommend her for anyone who seeks therapy

Very responsive and listens carefully and patiently to our concerns

Gwendolyn listens. She responds with great advice and asks questions that get you to consider things you haven’t before, and think more deeply, or from a different perspective than you have before. She recommends activities and provides worksheets. She checks on you in between weekly sessions.

Gwendolyn has been a much needed breath of fresh air. I had no idea just what I was surrounding myself with, and how it was affecting my wellbeing, but she is helping to break down barriers I have built up over 2 decades. She has an incredible ability to phrase things in a way that doesn't seem insurmountable, even the things that do take a whole lot of work. I had no idea I could progress as quickly as I have been over the past two months. I have been able to accomplish some things that I never thought I'd be able to do, and I owe so much of that to Gwendolyn.

I have absolutely loved therapy with her!

Gwen has been an amazing partner in my self discovery journey. She has shared some super simple, yet so significant, tips on how to handle life, anxiety, negativity etc. She is a great listener and affirmer. She is good at reminding us the power of taking small small steps in life and making sure we move! I'm grateful for you Gwen!

Gwendolyn is absolutely great.

Have only been with Gwen for about 3-4 weeks and the tools she has given me so far are extremely helpful. When I’m talking to her I can tell that she genuinely cares about helping me achieve a place of happiness and genuinely cares about the concerns and things im telling her. Im so glad I was matched with Gwen and so excited to continue working with her

Gwendolyn is fantastic! I worked with her for a month and though I won't be able to continue with Better Help due to insurance, I highly recommend her for those who can use the platform. She's very kind and understanding, and is extremely supportive and wise. The practices she had me do between sessions were great too, and she makes an effort to truly review them and check in throughout the process. I highly recommend her!

We're just getting started and feeling each other out but so far I really like her and have yet to feel judged by anything I've told her

Miss Gwen is so caring and really listens. She has so many resources and experience, that I really feel like my journey is in the best hands possible with her being a part of it. I was skeptical to pay for therapy when the free versions in my province had not done much for me in the past. SHE IS WORTH EVERY PENNY AND MORE. I really look forward to our sessions and the days proceeding them are what I'd hope them to be. It's been 3 weeks now and my life is already more in my control. Miss Gwen is so empowering and somehow always seems to have the best advice or words of comfort to offer. I am so grateful to get to work with her on Better help!

Gwendolyn is a blessing

Gwendolyn is an extremely calming, grounding force in my life. She understands trauma better than any professional I've spoken to, and she cares deeply about her patients.

Gwendolyn is amazing at providing resources and methods to lessen my anxiety and frequency of panic attacks that are specific to my issues. She’s very attentive and encouraging with any sort of achievements I’ve had, no matter how big or small they are. She reminds me all of these steps are a big improvement compared to when I first started. This helps me realize how much progress I’ve made especially when I am always tough on myself

Gwendolyn is a great listener and guides you through problems more than just giving out advice

So far im really happy you matched as my therapist

Great therapist

Gwendolyn is just wonderful.

She let's me be messy and I feel safe on the phone with her

I have had one session with Gwendolyn and it was very helpful. I look forward to the next one

Gwendolyn is very helpful to me. I realized that my mother was a narcissist in my late fifties. I feel I can count on Gwendolyn in my day-to-day dealings. She understands me and supports me and I feel strengthened. I highly recommend Gwendolyn and thank her

Even though I have tried to not do therapy I’ve had a friend that has shown concern and love for me even though it’s strictly business and professional but it has helped me get a better perspective of my life and I want to say thank you

She's great, listens and gives input. The work sheets and coping exercises are really helpful.

Miss Gwendolyn has been super supportive of my journey. She is responsive and encouraging. I am excited to be working with her.

Excellent listener and the kind words made all the difference

Very pleased so far

A wonderful match . Feeling so much calmer and rational having started therapy with Gwendolyn . Responds quickly and gives plans of action which I like ! I would truly highly recommend and have done so !

Very good at her job. Not too overwhelming, always patient

Gwendolyn is a blessing to me who help me slowly overcome my depression. I highly recommend her. She's so kind, understanding and very helpful. She also go beyond what's needed to a therapist specially her prayers and guidance. God bless Gwendolyn and for those who will choose her. :)

Terrific therapist, though shortlived. I could immediately tell she was a professional the moment I spoke to her

Gwendolyn has been excellent with reassurance that everything will work out in my current separation. She has years of experience with situations that I am currently in. If I had not spoken with a therapist I know my emotions would of spiraled out of control. I am beyond happy that I had been matched with Gwendolyn through better help.

Learning a lot so far, been helpful thank you

Gwen is awsome!! So calm and she is very easy to talk to. I would recommend her in a heartbeat!!!!

Attentive and thoughtful. Excited to get to know her better and to learn new tools for coping.

She is able to help me see my situation from.different angles and help me see I am not wrong in having differing viewpoints, myself.

Gwendolyn have a full understanding of what I went through. She is extremely professional and gives me the support and confidence I need.

I am new to better help and was a bit anxious about getting started. From my first session Gwendolyn made me feel comfortable and was very balanced with listening and responding with helpful feedback. I also appreciate her calm presence.

Gwendolyn’s advises are constructive and relevant to my situations. She helped me to discover solutions to my challenges.

She’s responsive and helpful!

Great!

I felt very nervous to start therapy and opening up about certain things. Gwendolyn has provided a very comfortable environment in which I feel free to talk about my feelings and problems. I am grateful for all of her advice, she validates my feelings and helps me find ways to work through problems I’m having or finding ways to approach situations that I wouldn’t otherwise have known how to handle alone.

Gwendolyn has been fantastic in the short space of time we’ve been having sessions together. At first I was very unsure of how the process worked, but she’s always been patient, supportive and allowed me to figure a lot of stuff out for my self, and been there to encourage and advise when needed. I love that the she’s made me feel in control of my own mental health journey and allows me the freedom of working through things in my own way. She’s the encouragement and positive energy I need on bad days or weeks, and there to congratulate and celebrate my break throughs. Can’t thank her enough already!

Great counselor.

Gwen has been such a blessing! She's everything you could want from a therapist: understanding, responsive, and easy to talk to. I have had several counselors over the years, and Gwen is by far the best.

I am so happy that finally I had started counselling, and it feels so right to talk with someone experienced which is helping you to get over difficult things. She is helping me a lot, and made me identify that I am very important, it feels so good to talk with her and the time is flying so quickly when we talk. Definitely I recommend it to everyone which needs help. Thank you

Me. Gwendolyn is amazing! She’s super attentive and really helps a lot! She listens and validates in a super straight forward way that helps you understand yourself and the world around you better! :)

Gwen is such a loving and understanding person. She’s always willing to listen and understand and her passion to see people better and healed is just amazing. I believe it was divinely orchestrated for her to be my counselor at this trying time in my life. Thank you BetterHelp for helping me through this rough time. Thank you for the opportunity to find a safe place to share my pain. Thank you Gwen for being there and listening. Your wise words of advice have changed my mindset and transformed me.

Ms. Gwen is so kind and therapeutic. I love her approach and the tone of her voice is so comforting. I would love to see her in person if I could. Thank you Ms. Gwen.

Gwendolyn had some wonderful insight to share, she listened intently and her advice felt sound. I very much appreciated my time with her and I know she will help many individuals seeking guidance.

Very kind and understanding. A lovely lady and appreciate all the help she gave me. Made me very comfortable with opening up and taking my first steps in the right direction.

Gwendolyn has been gracious, insightful and encouraging. She is quick to understand and help with solutions and I’ve looked forward to my calls with her each week.

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