Steven Osterstrom

Steven Osterstrom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in New York with 24 years of experience. He offers a warm, interactive therapy style that centers on compassion and practical change. Steven helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and life transitions. He also addresses relationship strain, parenting challenges, grief, intimacy concerns, and divorce and separation issues.

Steven links what people tell themselves about the past to how they feel now. He uses straightforward methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness to identify unhelpful thinking and build new patterns. Sessions focus on strengths, values, and small steps people can use between meetings.

He has taught social work graduate students for many years and has led group work in prison programs, which shaped his approach to diversity and inclusive practice. His experience includes working with trauma, co-occurring substance use, identity questions, and complex life changes. Those roles inform how he supports people who face multiple challenges at once.

In sessions Steven emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and a nonjudgmental stance. He encourages people to use their own courage to examine vulnerabilities and find resilience. Practical tools, mindfulness exercises, and conversational work are woven together to help clients make changes that matter.

People who choose to work with him can expect a collaborative process aimed at clearer goals and everyday coping strategies. He invites those ready to take steps toward a more fulfilling life to start this work together.

How his approaches fit into online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters most to them and take small actions toward those values even when feelings are difficult. It often includes practical exercises to shift attention away from unhelpful thoughts and toward meaningful behavior. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying and changing thinking patterns and behaviors that keep problems going, which can help with anxiety, depression, and coping during life changes. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity, improve focus, and create space for clearer choices.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and daily routines, and together they decide which methods to try. This collaborative process makes it easier to adjust strategies as needs change.

The biography does not specify which online session formats are used, so confirm available options before booking. Online care can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter or more flexible check-ins when schedules are tight. Many people find they can practice tools learned in sessions more readily when therapy fits into their regular routine.