Mary Stein, LMFT

Mary Stein is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in California who brings 27 years of clinical experience to work with individuals, couples, and families. She earned her master’s degree in counseling from Phillips Graduate Institute and became licensed in 1999. Over the course of her career she has practiced in private settings and served as a clinical supervisor in adolescent residential programs, as well as providing services in a domestic violence agency.

Her practice focuses on supporting people who are facing anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, and life transitions. Mary adopts a warm, accepting, and interactive counseling style that emphasizes respect, kindness, and collaborative problem solving. She works with each person to understand what brought them to therapy and then selects tools and methods aimed at helping them move toward healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Mary values a therapeutic relationship that is authentic and tailored to the individual’s goals, expectations, and strengths. She uses a humanistic, person-centered stance to maintain an accepting and collaborative environment, and she incorporates cognitive behavioral techniques to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop more effective coping and problem solving skills. Existential approaches also inform her work by helping clients explore meaning, purpose, and empowerment in their choices.

Mary regards therapy as a privilege and finds fulfillment in witnessing client growth and the positive effects that change can have on clients’ relationships and wider communities. She encourages small, steady steps as a pathway to lasting progress and seeks to support clients with compassion and practical strategies for change.