Gary Grant, LMHC

Gary Grant is a seasoned mental health professional with fifty years of experience as a teacher, probation officer, and therapist. He brings a long career of direct service and diverse training to work with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. As a member of the National Board for Certified Counselors and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Washington, he combines credentialed clinical practice with a lifetime of community-based work.

Gary’s clinical orientation began with Carl Rogers and client-centered therapy and evolved into an integrative, recovery-focused approach that emphasizes client strengths and resilient mental health. His practice includes Cognitive Behavioral techniques and hypnotherapy training, and he has provided mindfulness-based group therapy for emotional regulation among people coping with depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger management, and bipolar disorder. He also developed experiential cognitive work with people diagnosed with schizophrenia while collaborating closely with a unit psychiatrist.

Rooted in a multi- and cross-cultural perspective informed by Native American and African heritage, Gary has extensive experience working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and same-sex clients and with Native and Indigenous communities. He spent six years on the Salish-Kootenai Reservation in Montana and four years serving Alaskan Native communities in Fairbanks. His adolescent work includes residential settings using a positive peer orientation and a mix of individual, group, and family therapies across cultures.

Gary’s formal training spans a Bachelor of Arts with majors in psychology and sociology from Western State College of Colorado, a Master of Education in psychology, guidance, and counseling from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana with advanced coursework in theatre and group psychotherapy. He completed certification as a clinical hypnotherapist with training in Ego-State Therapy and pursued major coursework toward a PsyD at George Fox University. As an LMHC - a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who provides professional psychotherapy - he offers clinical care for a wide range of concerns including stress, trauma, intimacy and relationship issues, addictions, grief, parenting challenges, ADHD, chronic illness, and multicultural matters.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Gary combines client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy with trained hypnotherapy techniques to tailor care to each person’s needs. Client-centered therapy emphasizes empathy, active listening, and collaboration so the person feels heard and supported while exploring personal goals and relationships; it is often helpful for self-esteem, relationship concerns, grief, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and shifting unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma-related distress, and problems with sleep or mood. Hypnotherapy, informed by his certified training in Ego-State approaches, offers guided relaxation and imagery work that some people find useful alongside other therapeutic methods for addressing habits, trauma symptoms, and emotional regulation.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Gary works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit their goals, preferences, and history, adjusting the plan as progress unfolds. This collaborative stance helps tailor sessions for individuals, couples, families, and adolescents.

Online therapy with Gary is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make consistent care more accessible for people managing work, family, mobility, or geographic constraints, while allowing therapists to use similar clinical tools and exercises as in-person work.