Dr. Stephen Bentley, LPCC

Dr. Stephen Bentley is a licensed professional clinical counselor with over 32 years of practice experience. He offers a straightforward, person-centered approach for people dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and other life challenges. He aims to build a working relationship where acceptance and mutual respect are central to progress.

He describes his work as grounded in the therapeutic relationship first. Sessions tend to focus on the client’s needs and goals, with the counselor listening closely and helping people name what matters most. He does not rely on labels and emphasizes sensitivity and compassion in every encounter.

His background includes hospital-based group and individual therapy, crisis intervention, and long-term practice leadership. He has supervised other clinicians and served as a director for more than ten years. He has been with the same company for the past 20 years, giving him experience across settings and problem types.

Clinically, he blends cognitive-behavioral ideas with client-centered, psychodynamic, and rational-emotive perspectives. He also uses attachment-based and mindfulness ideas to help people work through relationship patterns, grief, and coping with life changes. That mixed approach lets him tailor sessions to what each person finds most useful.

He has worked with a wide range of concerns, including autism, ADHD, eating and intimacy-related issues, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and compassion fatigue. He welcomes people who want practical steps, deeper self-understanding, or help navigating transitions.

How his approaches translate to online therapy

Dr. Bentley uses client-centered work that focuses on the relationship, meeting people where they are and following their priorities. In practice this means listening, reflecting, and helping people set goals that feel realistic for their lives.

He also draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at how thoughts and behaviors influence feelings and teaches concrete skills for managing anxiety, stress, and habit patterns. Attachment-based ideas are used to notice and change relationship patterns that contribute to worry, grief, or intimacy-related issues.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. He will work collaboratively to decide which methods fit a person’s needs and preferences. That may mean trying an active skill-based plan for a while, then shifting to deeper reflective work if needed.

Tele-health is mentioned in his background as an effective tool he adopted during COVID-19. The biography does not specify current session formats, so confirm which options are offered before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten travel time, allow quick check-ins when needed, and reduce the disruption of attending in-person appointments.