- Goal focused
- Practical skills
- Warm support
About Stephanie
Stephanie Southard is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with over 26 years of experience. She offers a warm, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about their most pressing concerns. Sessions are shaped around each person's goals and paced to meet them where they are. Stephanie focuses on practical steps that help reduce stress and make daily life more manageable.
Her work often centers on anxiety, depression, addictions, and relationship struggles, including codependency and family of origin issues. She uses cognitive behavioral tools to help people notice and change thinking patterns that get in the way of better choices. She also draws on acceptance and commitment ideas to help clients live by their values despite hard feelings.
Stephanie incorporates exercises, role play, and skills practice into sessions. That makes therapy feel active and hands-on rather than only talking. She also addresses parenting challenges, blended family concerns, caregiver stress, chronic illness, grief, and trauma related to abandonment or abuse.
Born and raised on Long Island, she earned a Master of Arts in Social Work from Adelphi University in 1999. She lives in New York and brings practical experience working with community systems, courts, and child protective services when needed.
Her approach is collaborative and direct. She helps people set clear goals, practice new behaviors, and track progress. People who want straightforward tools and steady support often find her style helpful.
How Stephanie’s approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. This approach can help with anxiety, depression, codependency, and life transitions by focusing on what matters most. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and addictive habits. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to how early relationships shape current patterns in close relationships and can support work on abandonment, family of origin issues, and communication problems.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with the client to identify goals and try approaches that fit their needs and preferences. Sessions can include exercises, role play, and skill practice adapted to the online setting so clients can try things between meetings.
The therapist’s listed formats include live chat, phone, video, and text. Confirm the current session options before booking to make sure they fit your schedule and needs. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example a brief phone check-in during a break, a video session when more interaction is helpful, or text and chat for short ongoing support.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
26+ years
Credentials
New York
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What issues does Stephanie help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship and family concerns, codependency, trauma and abuse, grief, sleep problems, parenting stress, anger, career issues, bipolar and ADHD among other concerns.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is warm, direct, and practical. Sessions emphasize skill-building, role play, and exercises alongside talking.
What is her background and experience?
She has 26 years of experience as a social worker and has supported individuals, groups, and family-related concerns across community and legal settings.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in New York and is based in New York state.
In which languages are sessions available?
Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients.
What session formats does she offer?
The original biography lists live chat, phone, video, and text as service formats; confirm current session options before booking.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.