01 · Who Aileen works with

Aileen works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Aileen lists 12 specialisms and 14 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Aileen chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Aileen's own words

What Aileen says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Hello. Welcome to my profile. I am a licensed psychotherapist since 1992 in both New York and California. I believe that building a trusting relationship in a safe environment is the first step toward successful therapy. Psychotherapy is a two-way relationship. One of my strengths is listening. I feel one of the most basic wishes of a client is to be heard. I want to understand the issues the client identifies as well as the unspoken issues that may impede growth. My work begins “where the client is” with no agenda or judgment. As our work together progresses, I will encourage and motivate the client toward reaching goals he or she has set. However, I will employ these methods in a timely manner, when I determine the client is ready to take another step forward.

I primarily practice Psychodynamic Psychotherapy . I'm also schooled in Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness Therapy. I studied at New York University where I received my MSW in 1992. I've treated children, adults and seniors and am passionate about working with all age groups. It's very fulfilling to witness people reach their goals.

I have experience in a variety of settings, including hospitals as a medical social worker and counseling centers as a psychotherapist. I've also worked in Intensive Outpatient Programs treating the chronically mentally ill. Among the issues I've explored with clients are depression, anxiety and health issues, as well as domestic violence, PTSD and trauma. I check messages several times per day and will respond within 24 hours.

Thank you for reading my profile. I look forward to meeting you.

Aileen Stein, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Aileen works

The 6 approaches Aileen lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Aileen lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Aileen's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Aileen runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Aileen practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Aileen's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Aileen at this point.

2. Naming Aileen specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Aileen is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Aileen.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Aileen

Built from what Aileen actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Aileen's - Aileen has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 30 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LCSW 24019

Licence number

24019

Licence expires

30 Sep 2028

NPI

1386832467

Years in practice

30

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Aileen's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Aileen. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.