Licensed to practice in Michigan and accepts 37 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Depression, Self Esteem and 7 more.
Gary Watson
I'm a licensed MSW (master social worker) in the Grand Rapids, Michigan. area I use solution focused counseling to help you figure out what positive changes you'd like to make and what small changes you can start with. I enjoy working with a wide variety of people and concerns. Solution Focused Therapy is a very practical and effective form of counseling. Most of the clients who gravitate towards my services want to take action and start making changes right away. They don't want to just talk about their problems, they want to get ideas for specific things to do and move on with their lives. They don't want to be in counseling for years and want a counselor who appreciates that too.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I like to get to work right away. After a brief introduction about how I work, I'll ask you to give me the backstory of what brings you to counseling. I'll ask you questions designed to help you figure out what specific changes you're trying to make, help you understand more clearly why those changes are important, and then we'll start looking at specific things you can start with right away. I'll ask questions designed to help you think about the solution to your problem from different angles. We'll also talk about what things you're doing right that you should do more of. By the end of the first session, I'll give you some feedback on what I see as your strengths, and your goals. I'll give you some suggestions for things to try between sessions in order to make progress. At the beginning of the second session, I'll usually ask you about things that have gone better for you so we can help you do more of what has worked. These small successes will add up to big changes.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I pride myself on being genuine and not presumptuous. I use a therapy model that is proven to be effective. My clients usually feel comfortable talking to me right away. I don't assume I'm the expert on everything and expect you to do as I suggest. Rather, I take the approach that we'll figure things out together. I'll definitely suggest some things and give you ideas but you'll have to decide which ones make sense for you and your way of doing things.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I prefer to work with clients who want to take charge of their situation and do the work to move forward with solutions to their problems. I like to end each session, whenever possible, with something tangible and realistic for you to do in-between sessions so you can make progress quickly. I use a combination of solution focused therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy which works great for people who want to do the work to improve their situation or relationship.
Specialties
Top specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Self Esteem
Other specialties
Anger Management
Coping Skills
Couples Counseling
Grief
Men's Issues
Parenting
Peer Relationships
I identify as
Man
White
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Teenagers (13 to 17)
Licensed in
Michigan
Accepts
Aetna
Aetna - Allied Benefits
Aetna - Luminare
Aetna - Moda
Aetna - WebTPA
Aetna – HealthEZ
All Savers
Amerihealth Administrators
Arlo
AvMed
Blue Care Network
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Independence Administrators
Independence Blue Cross
Blue Cross Blue Shield - Federal
Cash - $120 per session
Centivo
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
EAP:UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Evernorth
GTEB
Golden Rule
Harvard Pilgrim/UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare/Optum
Optum
OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
Oscar
Oxford
Surest (formerly Bind)
Tufts Health/Cigna
United Medical Resources
UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance
UnitedHealthcare Shared Services
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources
Location
Offers in-person in 975 Spaulding Ave SE, Forest Hills, MI 49301, Suite D
Virtual
My treatment methods
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Solution Focused Brief Therapy works well for those who want to identify specific positive changes they want to make and start with small do-able action steps to make those changes. We focus on outlining what you want to change in your life, then work backwards towards the actual small changes that help you get there.
Couples Counseling
I also provide couples counseling from a Solution focused perspective. Solution focused counseling works well for couples because focuses on the positive changes you want in your relationship instead of focusing on problems. It's much easier to agree on positive changes than to convince the other person they are doing something wrong, Focusing on positive changes gets you there quicker.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is used to help you look at situations from a healthier perspective as a way of minimizing negative emotions and behavior caused by stressful situations. In other words, you can learn to manage your emotions by choosing to interpret situations in a healthier way.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I like to add some behavioral concepts into the Solution Focused counseling I do. Solution focused counseling helps you determine what specific changes you want to make and behavioral techniques improve the chances that you will really start making these changes. Quite often, we know what we should be doing differently, but we have trouble getting started or knowing exactly how to get started. CBT or behaviorism can help with this.
15 ratings with written reviews
May 22, 2026
Gary is very helpful in figuring out problems and to give wisdom on how to work thru them. He as a lot of helpful and useful tips to try and help you thru problems. He is very direct about things which is helpful to get to the problems.
Verified client, age 35-44
January 16, 2026
Great session! Thank you once again! I appreciate you understanding!
Verified client, age 25-34
December 18, 2025
Seems honest and open and non-judge-mental.