About Stephanie
Stephanie Lerma is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California with five years of clinical experience. She speaks English and Spanish and focuses on clear, practical help for common struggles like stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Stephanie aims to offer steady support for people facing parenting strains, family conflict, and life transitions.
Her sessions often start with concrete goals and a simple plan. She combines evidence-based techniques and careful listening to help people manage symptoms and improve daily functioning.
How Stephanie works
The work may include practicing new communication skills, identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, and building coping strategies for intense feelings. Stephanie also pays attention to how early relationships shape current struggles. That perspective can help when abandonment, attachment concerns, or family of origin issues are part of the problem.
She also addresses topics like body image, guilt and shame, caregiver stress, and isolation with a practical, step-by-step approach. People who want support for parenting challenges, separation and divorce issues, or healing after trauma will find focused, active guidance. She integrates short-term tools and longer-term reflection so clients can make steady progress.
Sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules. To begin, clients complete a brief matching questionnaire and schedule sessions according to therapist availability. Stephanie structures therapy so each person’s goals guide the pace and methods used.
What Stephanie works with
The areas below are the ones Stephanie selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 5 |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that guide online sessions
Stephanie uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help people manage symptoms and change unhelpful patterns. One approach focuses on practical skill-building to manage strong emotions and reduce impulsive reactions; clients learn breathing and grounding exercises, emotion regulation strategies, and step-by-step plans for handling crises. Another approach targets thoughts and behaviors by identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and testing new behaviors in daily life to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Stephanie works with each person to match techniques to their goals, preferences, and pace. She will check in regularly and adjust methods so the work feels useful and doable rather than overwhelming.
Online therapy offers flexibility and makes it easier to fit sessions into busy lives. Video calls let people connect face-to-face from different locations, phone sessions are a good option when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging can support brief check-ins or ongoing skill practice between sessions. These formats help people maintain continuity of care while balancing work, school, and family demands.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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