About Ricardo
Dr. Ricardo Gillispie, PhD, LCSW helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, relationship and intimacy concerns, and ADHD. He has more than five decades of experience in social work and clinical practice.
He is based in Mississippi and works with issues that affect daily life and functioning. He uses clear, direct conversations to help people sort problems and set goals. Sessions focus on practical skills, emotion regulation, and improving communication.
Background and approach
He blends several therapy approaches to match what each person needs in the moment. Dr. Gillispie earned a Bachelor of Social Science in 1973 and completed a Master of Social Work in 1975.
He later finished a PhD in social work with a focus on psychotherapeutic practice. Over his career he has worked in outpatient clinics, hospitals, correctional settings, and program development for geriatric behavioral health. He served as a independent practice owner and leader of a multidisciplinary behavioral health group.
He also consulted on intensive outpatient programs and helped design mental health services in correctional facilities. That background informs his practical, solution-minded approach in therapy. In sessions he listens for what matters most and then offers strategies rooted in evidence-based methods.
His work emphasizes small, doable steps people can use between meetings. The goal is to help people handle stressors, build coping skills, and restore a sense of control.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It teaches values-based choices and small actions that move a person toward a meaningful life, which can help with anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and teaches concrete strategies to change unhelpful patterns; it is often used for anxiety, depression, and managing daily symptoms. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to relationship patterns formed early in life and how they affect current connections; it can be useful when relationship difficulties and intimacy issues are central.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't worked before. Together they choose methods and try practical strategies, then adjust the plan based on how things progress.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls allow face-to-face sessions when a visual connection helps. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and text-based messaging give frequent, brief ways to process thoughts between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, and travel while keeping the focus on steady progress.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 51 years
- Licensed
- Mississippi
- Languages
- English
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