Stephanie Howard, LCSW

Stephanie Howard is a licensed therapist practicing in California with 17 years of professional experience. She holds an LCSW, which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and earned her master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Over the course of her career she has worked in inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities, schools, and community-based non-profits and clinics, bringing a broad perspective to clinical work.

Stephanie integrates Cognitive Behavioral and psychodynamic techniques within a strengths-based, client-focused framework. She draws on practical, research-informed strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy while also exploring deeper patterns and relational themes through psychodynamic methods. Her work is tailored to each person - dialog and treatment plans are shaped to reflect individual goals, needs, and life circumstances.

She has experience supporting people with stress and anxiety, relationship challenges, trauma and abuse, and parenting concerns. Stephanie approaches each person with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, and prioritizes empowering clients as they take steps toward meaningful change. She frames the work as a collaborative process, offering support and guidance as clients pursue a more fulfilling and balanced life.

Therapeutic approaches and online care with Stephanie Howard

Stephanie draws on client-centered methods to create a respectful, collaborative space where the client's priorities guide the work. This approach emphasizes empathy and active listening and is useful for building trust, clarifying goals, and strengthening self-directed change.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and shift unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. CBT offers practical tools for managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and mood concerns and for developing coping strategies that apply to daily life.

In addition, psychodynamic techniques are used to explore underlying patterns and relational themes that influence current difficulties. This approach can help uncover repetitive dynamics and increase self-understanding, which supports longer-term change.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Stephanie collaborates with each person to determine the best fit based on the client's needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as work progresses.

Online therapy offers flexibility and accessibility - sessions by video call or phone make it possible to meet from home, while live chat and text-based messaging provide additional options for ongoing support between sessions. These formats allow licensed professionals and therapists to tailor timing and communication style to what works best for each client.