About James
Dr. James Ruby uses a mix of talk-based approaches to help people navigate relationship strain, grief, anxiety, and major life changes. He brings 22 years of experience as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Hawaii and focuses on helping people manage stress, addictions, parenting concerns, and issues around intimacy and self-worth.
He favors practical conversations that connect thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Sessions often look at how past experiences shape current patterns while keeping attention on immediate goals.
Background and approach
He sometimes assigns brief exercises between sessions to try out new ways of coping and communicating. James pays attention to multiple parts of a person’s life - emotional, cognitive, physical, and spiritual - and uses that perspective to find small, usable shifts.
He uses approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and client-centered work to help people clarify values and make choices that match those values. He also draws on existential and psychodynamic ideas when exploring longer-standing patterns or sources of meaning. Motivational interviewing is used when someone is weighing change or struggling with addictive behavior.
The overall aim is to reconnect people to strengths they already have and to practical next steps. Sessions are offered in English and can be scheduled online by following the platform’s matching process. Dr.
Ruby welcomes questions about his approach and encourages people to consider what they most want to change before the first meeting.
How these approaches work online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts while moving toward what matters most. It focuses on values and practical actions to reduce the hold of worry or avoidance. Client-Centered Therapy centers on empathetic listening and reflection so people feel heard and can find their own solutions; it is useful for building self-esteem and repairing relationships.Choosing the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work collaboratively to match methods to a person's goals, needs, and preferences. Early sessions often include a conversation about what the person hopes to change and which techniques feel most practical for them.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video calls allow fuller interaction when discussing relationships or grief. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited. Chat and messaging are useful for brief check-ins, focused coping exercises, or steady support between longer sessions. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep work toward goals consistent.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
Also works with
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- Hawaii, Iowa
- Languages
- English