About Steven
Steven Smith is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in California. He works with people facing anxiety, depression, bipolar challenges, addictions, relationship strain, grief, and phobias. Steven focuses on practical help so people feel steadier in day-to-day life.
Steven uses a collaborative, client-centered style. He listens first and helps clients choose goals that matter to them. Sessions aim to reduce overwhelm and build skills for managing strong emotions and difficult situations.
Background and approach
He brings ten years of clinical experience and a background in psychology to his work. That experience includes supporting people through trauma, coping with life changes, and addressing intimacy and communication struggles. He also works with concerns around ADHD, anger, and compassion fatigue.
Steven blends several approaches in straightforward ways. He draws on mindfulness to improve focus and calm. Existential methods help clients find meaning and make choices that fit their values.
The Gottman Method is used when couples want concrete tools for communication and repair. In sessions he uses clear, everyday language. Clients can expect check-ins, skill practice, and steps to try between meetings.
Steven encourages small changes that add up to real improvements in mood, relationships, and daily functioning.
Approaches for online work and what to expect
Steven uses client-centered therapy to build sessions around each person's priorities and values; this approach focuses on listening, reflecting, and helping people set their own goals rather than telling them what to do. He also uses mindfulness therapy to teach simple attention and breathing practices that reduce reactivity and help with anxiety and stress. The Gottman Method appears in sessions that focus on relationship skills, offering concrete tools for communication and conflict repair.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Steven will talk with clients about concerns, goals, and preferences, then suggest which methods to try first. That plan can change over time based on what helps most, and he invites feedback so the work stays relevant and useful.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video lets you use visual cues for deeper conversations. Phone sessions can fit into a busy day or use less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging are useful for shorter check-ins, in-between support, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options help people maintain continuity of care while balancing work, family, and other commitments.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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