About Stephanie Nilsen, Ph.D., MS Intern

Building strong and trusting therapeutic alliances.

From teaching kindergarten to higher education and on to becoming a counselor, I have watched and worked with humans of all ages and all stages as they learn to face challenges and experience growth. Overcoming is a human endeavor and relationships are the foundation for learning new ways to face whatever is standing in your way.

I work with individual adults (from teens to seniors), families, and children to help identify barriers to development and focus on utilizing the strategies that will best facilitate positive change. We will work in tandem to identify challenges and find realistic and effective solutions that will help to improve relationships, support better communication, and manage day to day challenges. I believe in using trauma-informed approaches that begin where you are to help promote success and positive change. Methods such as Solution-Focused Therapy, CBT, DBT, Internal Family Systems, and Developmental Play-Based Interventions can help to build skills and work through depression, anxiety, trauma, relationships, and more.

Back From the Beehive State!

After working and studying in both Utah and Arizona, I am grateful to be back in the valley of the sun near family and lifelong friends to continue my career as a mental health provider.

I’ve dedicated my life to searching for new ways to manage human challenges. I started in Early Childhood Education teaching in Preschool, Kindergarten and Elementary grades, particularly in early intervention and special education realms. I earned a Masters in K-12 Special Education; a Doctorate in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders, and returned for a second Master’s in Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in trauma.

I am keenly interested in developmental approaches to learning, social/emotional learning (especially in the context of trauma), and relationships-based approaches that focus on authentic learning and improvements. I would be honored to work together with you to identify problems, find realistic solutions, and work towards a life full of more skills, hope, and growth!