In August 2021, Stephanie Padich (Steph) joined Sea Mar's Behavioral Health team as a Mental Health Therapist to expand her skills and awareness to working with all adults after Western Washington University.

Steph grew up in a suburban neighborhood on Long Island, New York, spending most of her free time exploring the outdoors with her twin sister. As a kiddo, Steph spent most weekends with her grandmother, which imprinted a special place in her heart for working with older adults.

With an itch for adventure and wanderlust, Steph moved to the Pacific Northwest. There she worked as a caregiver for older adults with progressive illnesses - like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's - for a few years. In this role, Steph realized the healing power of emotional connection and intergenerational relationships. This experience propelled Steph to enroll in a master's clinical mental health counseling program at Western Washington University.

Steph has experience providing individual counseling utilizing a person-centered, culturally competent, and trauma-informed lens. She uses a collaborative approach and believes the client has the "driver's seat" in counseling. Steph pulls from a variety of therapeutic modalities to meet the client's needs, such as DBT, motivational interviewing, existential and narrative-based counseling, among others. Steph is also a passionate advocate for healthcare and social justice reform.

In her free time, Steph loves to write, run, watch movies and television shows, and check-out new restaurants and nature spots with her friends and family. She also is a mother to two adorable cats, Gertrude and Irvin.