Stephen is a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) under the clinical supervision of Pamela Blaszak MA, LPC, CSAC, ICS and Julia Dooley, MA, LPC, RPT. He is board certified as a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and received a Master of Arts degree (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Webster University in 2021. Additionally, Stephen completed a certificate training program in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery from Harvard Medical School in 2022. He has continued to enhance his professional development and skills by enrolling in additional training offered by Harvard and other institutions of higher learning.
Stephen has been involved in providing mental health-related care and social services for more than a decade. In his career, Stephen has worked as a sexual health educator, Ryan White case manager serving newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals, victim’s advocate and crisis responder for those impacted by violent and/or sexual crime, and clinical mental health counselor in private practice. Stephen is proud to be an LGBTQ+ affirming therapist who has been active in the queer community for many years. Additionally, he has been involved in HIV/AIDS advocacy for over 30 years and was involved in the congressional process and passage of the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990.
Stephen is dedicated to helping individuals living with HIV find greater peace, strength, and joy in life. He uses a compassionate counseling process implementing a combination of evidence-based therapeutic practices that may include Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Gestalt Experiential Technique, Mindfulness-based, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and other approaches based on the client’s goals for the therapeutic relationship and setting. Stephen offers both video/telehealth and in-person sessions.