- Years in practice
- 5
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Family conflicts
- Focus
- Parenting issues
About Stephanie
Stephanie Lerma is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California. She offers straightforward support for parents and individuals dealing with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and parenting challenges. Sessions are offered in English and Spanish to meet different communication needs.
She uses a mix of practical skills and deeper conversation to help people manage symptoms and relationships. That can mean learning new coping tools, shifting unhelpful thoughts, or looking at how past experiences affect present behavior.
Background and approach
Sessions are collaborative and focused on what a person wants to change. With five years of clinical work, she brings experience addressing family conflict, communication problems, divorce and separation, and caregiver stress. She also helps people facing attachment concerns, abandonment issues, body image struggles, guilt, shame, and feelings of isolation.
Her background includes work with common life transitions and trauma-related symptoms. Therapy often combines short-term skills practice with longer-term reflection. That might look like practicing emotion regulation tools one week and talking about underlying patterns the next.
The aim is practical improvement in daily life while building insight over time. Sessions can include goal-setting, skill coaching, and gentle exploration of past experiences. Stephanie emphasizes a respectful, honest relationship where progress is paced to each person’s needs and goals.
What Stephanie works with
Everything Stephanie lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Stephanie helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Practical approaches for parenting and stress online
Her work combines evidence-based techniques into clear steps people can try between sessions. Cognitive behavioral techniques focus on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce anxiety and low mood; this is useful for everyday stress and parenting worries. Dialectical behavior ideas emphasize emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better communication, which can help when feelings feel overwhelming or when conflicts arise.Finding the right mix is a collaborative process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose which approaches to try first, track what helps, and adjust plans based on goals and preferences. That collaborative stance makes it easier to try small changes and build what works over time.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video is helpful for fuller conversation and visual cues, phone can fit a break at work or use less bandwidth, live chat is useful for quick check-ins, and messaging lets people share thoughts between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy parenting life and to keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask about Stephanie
What concerns does Stephanie address?
She helps people facing stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, low self-esteem, and depression, along with related issues like attachment, caregiver stress, and family conflict.
What is her general therapeutic style?
Her style blends practical skill teaching with thoughtful conversation. Sessions include coping tools, thought work, and exploration of patterns that affect daily life.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has five years of clinical experience working with adolescents and adults in California settings.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT, practicing in California.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
What session formats are available?
She provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How are costs handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
More therapists for parents in California
All in California
Moushumi Ghose
LMFT
California 23 years in practice
Intimacy and relationship-focused therapy
- LGBT
- Relationship
- Intimacy-related issues
Jeana De Lay
LMFT
California 17 years in practice
Practical therapy and parenting support
- Self esteem
- Career
- Stress, Anxiety
Yanina Lambert
LMFT
California 20 years in practice English, Spanish
Supportive therapist for parenting and relationships
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship
- Trauma and abuse