Steven Osterstrom, LCSW

Steven Osterstrom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in New York with 24 years of experience providing individual and group psychotherapy. He has worked with people facing a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, addictions, identity questions, relationship and family struggles, parenting and fatherhood issues, career challenges, bipolar disorder, grief and loss, intimacy-related difficulties, and coping with life changes. He also has experience addressing trauma and abuse as well as co-occurring mental health and substance use issues.

In addition to clinical practice, he has taught social work at two universities for roughly 20 years, helping graduate students develop the skills needed for professional practice. He has volunteered in correctional settings through the Alternatives to Violence Project, leading groups in New York and Pennsylvania that explored nonviolent approaches to conflict. These teaching and volunteer experiences have informed his work with diverse populations and contributed to a gender-inclusive, anti-racist orientation.

His approach is warm and interactive, informed by compassion-focused principles and a strengths-oriented stance. He draws from empirically supported methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Therapy. Mindfulness practices and skill-building strategies are woven into many sessions to help people identify and shift patterns of belief that interfere with well-being. He emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and the client as an active source of insight and change.