Mary Stein

Mary Stein is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in California who brings 27 years of clinical experience to her work. She earned a master’s degree in Counseling from Phillips Graduate Institute and became licensed in 1999. Over the course of her career she has supported individuals, couples, and families across a variety of settings, including private practice, adolescent residential programs where she served as a clinical supervisor, and a domestic violence agency.

Her practice focuses on helping people manage stress and anxiety, address relationship concerns, process trauma and abuse, cope with grief and depression, and work through addictions and other life challenges. She also assists clients with family conflicts, intimacy-related concerns, eating and sleeping disorders, parenting difficulties, anger management, self-esteem, career transitions, bipolar disorder, and compassion fatigue.

Mary’s counseling style is warm, accepting, and interactive. She emphasizes respect and kindness while offering a safe, supportive environment and constructive feedback. Sessions begin by exploring what brought a person to therapy and then focus on practical methods and tools that best support movement toward healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Her approach blends humanistic, cognitive behavioral, and existential perspectives. The humanistic, person-centered stance prioritizes an authentic, collaborative therapeutic relationship that honors where a person is in life and builds on their strengths and goals. Cognitive behavioral techniques help identify and modify unhelpful thinking patterns, understand behavior, and develop adaptive coping and problem-solving skills. Existential work centers on finding meaning and purpose, embracing choice, and fostering personal empowerment.

Mary believes that small steps lead to meaningful change and sees it as a privilege to accompany others on their journeys toward greater self-awareness, learning, and healing.