Stephen Murphy, LICSW, LCSW-C

Stephen Murphy is a licensed clinician with ten years of experience helping people sort through difficult emotions and life changes. He holds LICSW and LCSW-C credentials and practices from Maryland while maintaining licenses in several nearby jurisdictions. He focuses on clear, practical work that aims to reduce daily distress and improve decision making. He helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addiction concerns, and the fallout from trauma and loss. His style is direct but compassionate. Sessions focus on what matters most to each person and on skills that can be used between appointments. Stephen combines several evidence-informed approaches to match individual needs. He uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and take action. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used to identify unhelpful thinking and build new habits. He also integrates attachment perspectives to address relationship patterns. Clients often bring questions about identity, relationships, parenting strain, workplace pressure, or mood instability. He aims to make conversations straightforward and practical, helping people find small changes that add up. Therapy is collaborative and paced to each person's comfort. People seeking help with addictions, grief, or persistent worry will find focused support rooted in ten years of practice. Stephen encourages realistic steps, ongoing learning, and attention to strengths while working through setbacks. He welcomes conversations about goals and how therapy might fit into someone’s life.

How his approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice unhelpful thoughts, clarify what matters, and take small steps toward those values. It can be useful for anxiety, depression, life transitions, and motivation struggles. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on spotting and testing thinking patterns and building new behaviours through practice, which often helps with worry, mood, and stress. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early and current relationship patterns shape reactions and connection, which can be helpful for relationship concerns and trust issues.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Stephen will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then use one or more methods that fit those aims. That collaborative process means approaches can be adjusted over time based on what is helping.

Confirm the current session options before booking because formats are not detailed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, support shorter check-ins when schedules demand, and reduce travel time. It also lets people work with licensed professionals across jurisdictions, which can help when relocating or when in-person options are limited. The focus remains on practical skills, clearer thinking, and steady steps toward the client’s goals.