About Steph Bayan
I help those moving through loss, change, and the quiet ache of disconnection. My work is about helping you understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone in your experience, and find steadiness in the midst of uncertainty.
Feeling connected to your therapist matters more than any technique or tool -
Feeling connected to your therapist matters. When it feels like the right fit, the work can go deeper and feel less like performing — and more like being met where you actually are.
I’m not someone who only sits back and nods. I show up as a real person — present, honest, and steady. My role is to hold space with you, ask the questions that help you get to what’s underneath, and walk with you as things start to shift.
You deserve to know who you’re sitting with. This is a glimpse into who I am, both as a therapist and as a human, so you can get a sense of whether it feels right for you.
Steph Bayan, LMFT
I know how disorienting it can feel to move through life on autopilot. To meet every expectation, keep going, and still feel like something essential has been left behind.
My own shift didn’t come from a single defining moment. It came through slowing down, listening inward, and giving myself permission to move differently. That experience shapes how I show up as a therapist today: warm, steady, and deeply attuned to the real, lived experience of being human.
In my practice, I integrate somatic therapy, mindfulness, and evidence-based approaches like IFS (Internal Family Systems), DBT, and CBT. These modalities support nervous system regulation, emotional awareness, and meaningful, lasting change. I often work with people navigating grief, anxiety, life transitions, identity shifts, and a sense of feeling untethered or disconnected from themselves.
I work closely with couples navigating early parenthood, and offer perinatal and postpartum therapy for women and new moms who are adjusting to the deep emotional and physical changes of this season.
I work closely with college and graduate students, including those at Bard College, Marist College, and Vassar College, supporting them through academic pressure, identity development, and transitions.
Another part of my work is supporting people experiencing grief as parents without parents—navigating milestones, caregiving, and parenthood without their own parental figures present. I also facilitate the WithoutHer Mother Loss Support Group, a space for women and femmes to gather in honest, tender conversation around mother loss and identity.
I provide individual therapy, couples therapy, and grief support groups—both in person in the Hudson Valley and virtually across New York. My intention is to create a steady, grounded space for you to come home to yourself, at your own pace, with no pressure to be anywhere other than where you are.
Outside of the therapy room, the things that keep me grounded are usually simple. Nature is my reset button — whether it’s a walk outside with my pup Noodle, time by the water, or a quiet trail. Music has always been a big part of my life; I spent years working in the music industry before becoming a therapist, and it still shapes the way I move through the world.
I love yoga for the way it brings me back into my body, and cooking is my love language — the way I care for the people I love (and, honestly, myself too). These are the small rituals that keep me connected to what matters most.
If you’re ready to reconnect with yourself, build trust with your inner world, and create a life that feels like your own again, I’d be honored to support you in that process.
Why I Do This Work
I work with people who’ve been carrying a lot for a long time—people who keep showing up, holding it all together, even when something inside has quietly gone missing. Life might look fine on the outside, but inside, it feels a little disconnected, like you’ve lost your sense of center.
I don’t believe in quick fixes or forced breakthroughs. Real change usually happens in quieter ways—when you have space to slow down, to hear yourself again, to move in a way that actually fits your life.
My approach is steady, grounded, and real. I offer a space without pressure or performance—just honest support as you begin to reconnect to yourself and what matters to you.