About Stephen
Dr. Stephen Lovato helps people facing a wide range of life stresses and emotional struggles. He greets clients with respect and sensitivity, and aims to create a calm space for honest conversation.
He emphasizes practical, person-focused work so people can make steady changes that matter to daily life. With 45 years of experience, Dr. Lovato brings a long history of clinical practice in California as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).
How Stephen works
He works with concerns such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addictions, grief, trauma and abuse, and sleeping problems. He also supports people dealing with relationship and intimacy-related issues, parenting worries, career strain, and self-esteem challenges. His approach adapts to the person in front of him.
That can mean using client-centered methods to follow a person's priorities, cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, or psychodynamic ideas to look at patterns that repeat over time. He also draws on solution-focused strategies to set short-term, achievable goals. Sessions focus on clear communication and practical steps.
Conversations are aimed at identifying what feels most urgent, building coping skills, and tracking small gains. He encourages collaboration so clients help shape the plan of work. People who want straightforward, experienced guidance often choose Dr.
Lovato for ongoing support. He is based in California and conducts sessions in English. The first meeting typically covers immediate concerns and establishes priorities for future sessions.
Stephen lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Stephen works with
The areas below are the ones Stephen selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 45 |
| Languages | English |
| 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
How these approaches translate to online therapy
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on following the person's priorities and offering empathic listening so the client sets the pace and topics. It suits people who want a supportive space to explore feelings and make decisions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses exercises to change patterns that cause distress; it is often helpful for anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, and stress-related issues.Choosing a therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't worked in the past. From there he will suggest methods to try and will adjust the plan as progress and feedback emerge.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video calls are useful for conversations that benefit from face-to-face interaction, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed. Live chat or messaging suits brief check-ins, ongoing support between sessions, or times when typing is more comfortable than speaking. These options make it easier to maintain regular therapy around work, family, and other responsibilities.
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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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