About
A practice built quietly,
over many years.
For over thirty years, and through my own experiences of grief and suffering, I have come to see psychotherapy as sacred work. I strive to create a space where you can exhale, feel safe, and speak honestly — without fear of judgment.
Gail A. Phillips, LCSW · Buckhead, Atlanta
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Georgia and Florida, with a private practice in Buckhead. From the beginning of my career — thirty-four years ago — I trained psychodynamically, and that orientation has remained the spine of how I work.
I integrate several psychotherapy approaches as the work calls for them. The depth model still holds. The other tools serve it.
I've been most shaped by the modern relational psychodynamic tradition — a lineage that trusts depth and understands that lasting change comes through relationship, not technique. It takes a person seriously: history, inner life, the patterns that repeat in the room between us. The work is slow, honest, and assumes you are far more than your symptoms.
My work is also grounded in existential therapy. It honors the realities of being human: loss, longing, uncertainty, change, and the search for meaning. Together we cultivate healing, growth, and self-compassion — learning to meet yourself with greater kindness.
I sit in meditation every morning and have for sixteen years. I have also meditated with a small group of women many days a week for several years.
Loving-Kindness Meditation – version by Gail A. Phillips
May you be well and free from suffering.
May you be happy, playful, and joyful.
May you be loved and deeply love yourself and others.
May you be at peace and live with ease.
“I’m here to help you cultivate greater wellness, happiness, love, and peace.”
Confidentiality is not just something I list at the end of a form. It is part of how I understand this work — sacred, deserving of profound honor, respect, and protection. My home office has a fully discreet entrance. Many of my clients are well known; many more simply value the privacy of being unobserved while they think out loud.
I live a quiet life, and I bring that quiet with me into the room.
I'm married to Tom Phillips (a psychologist), and we have two adult children and two dogs.
I also love to play, laugh, dance, hike, and sit quietly in nature.
Training & Credentials
- Licensure
-
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, #1528 · 1992
Licensed in Georgia and Florida
- Education
-
Master of Social Work · University of Southern California · 1988
Bachelor of Arts · University of Georgia · 1984
- Clinical Training
-
Psychodynamic psychotherapy — primary orientation
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy · Acceptance and Commitment Therapy · Gottman Couples Therapy · Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy · Mindful Self-Compassion · Internal Family Systems · Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction · Attachment theory
- Continuing Study
-
34 years of consistently participating in psychotherapy consultation groups and attending continuing education trainings.
- Practice
-
Thirty-four years of clinical practice in Buckhead, Atlanta.
The space
A private home office in Buckhead.
Discreet parking, a quiet entrance shared with my husband's practice,
and a room created for the kind of slow, unfolding conversation at the heart of this work.
