Gesina Charles, LPC

Gesina Charles is a licensed professional counselor who helps people manage stress, anxiety, anger, low self-esteem, and depression. She meets people where they are and aims to make the first steps feel manageable and clear. With four years of clinical experience in Virginia, she uses practical strategies to address common life challenges. She works with people coping with life changes, grief, and problems related to addiction. Communication problems, feelings of emptiness, isolation, social anxiety, and women's issues are also among her focus areas. Her approach centers on listening and tailoring each plan to the person's needs. Sessions are collaborative and goal-oriented. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to help people notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. Gesina also uses client-centered methods to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space. Mindfulness and dialectical behavior ideas are woven in when useful to manage intense emotions and improve day-to-day coping. Motivational interviewing guides conversations about change and readiness. She speaks English and Haitian Creole, and she aims to be sensitive to each person's background. Taking the first step can feel hard, and her style emphasizes small, steady progress toward clearer goals.

Using evidence-based approaches in online care

Gesina commonly draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and client-centered therapy in remote sessions. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people identify patterns between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and then try small, concrete changes to reduce anxiety or improve mood. Client-centered therapy focuses on a respectful, listening stance so the person feels understood while they decide on goals.

She also incorporates dialectical behavior therapy ideas when emotion regulation or intense reactions are getting in the way. DBT techniques include simple skills for managing strong feelings, tolerating distress, and improving relationships, which can be practiced between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and then shape a plan together. That collaborative process helps ensure the methods used match what the person hopes to change.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is helpful for in-depth conversations and visual cues, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits brief check-ins, and messaging lets people share progress or questions between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between meetings.