Licensed to practice in California and accepts 52 insurances. Specializes in Addiction, Serious Mental Illness, Trauma and PTSD and 9 more.
Stewart Richardson
(he/him)
About me
Good day, I am Stewart. I am a relational therapist; I use the therapeutic relationship to do meaningful work for you in my practice. I provide client-centered psychodynamic therapy with a focus on CBT, DBT, and mindfulness strategies to help you find your own way to your goals. I'm a helpful guide who believes in your ability to find your own solutions. I offer non-judgmental, professional support for people seeking perspective and insight into their issues. I have worked with people with severe mental health and addiction issues in the past at non profit organizations, which has allowed me to hone my therapeutic skills in clinical environments where there was great mentorship and support.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I will orient you to my style of therapy and explore your history of therapeutic access. I will review your background and needs, then provide my theoretical orientation, sharing how I provide treatment. I will emphasize building a therapeutic alliance and will set expectations for future sessions.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I have honed my use of motivational interviewing to aid in the exploration of your issues. I provide a client-centered approach, where building a solid, genuine and supportive relationship leads to the growth of a helpful, nurturing environment where my clients are able to feel comfortable and heard and they are able to work through their issues with professional support. I have also developed a friendly, non-clinical way of working evidence-based interventions into what feels like a more natural conversation which helps me find a real connection with my clients while building a therapeutic alliance that we will use to do meaningful work on your issues. I feel that by centering the focus of the session on the client's needs I am able to better serve them and avoid the trap of pretending to be an expert in all things.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I am open to serving any individual therapy client, but I specialize in people who have trauma, difficult life events, substance usage and people who are neurodivergent. I am happy to help clients looking for long-term introspective therapy, but I also enjoy helping people work on shorter-term goals. I have spent years working in clinical settings with people with severe mental health disorders and I am happy to focus on deeper, fundamental change in clients if they are looking for that kind of support.
Specialties
Top specialties
Addiction
Serious Mental Illness
Trauma and PTSD
Other specialties
ADHD
Coping Skills
Crisis Intervention
Depression
Grief
Learning Disabilities
Life Transitions
Men's Issues
Mood Disorders
Identifies as
Man
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Licensed in
California
Accepts
Aetna
Aetna - ASR Health Benefits
Aetna - Allied Benefits
Aetna - Luminare
Aetna - Medicare
Aetna - Moda
Aetna - WebTPA
Aetna – HealthEZ
Ambetter from Health Net
Amerihealth Administrators
Amerihealth NJ Medicare Advantage
Anthem
Blue Cross
Independence Administrators
Independence Blue Cross
Arlo
Blue Shield
Blue Shield of California - Medicare
Independence Personal Choice 65 PPO
Independence Keystone 65 HMO
Carelon Behavioral Health (Commercial)
Sutter Health Plan
IHSS Healthy Workers
Cash - $125 per session
Centivo
Central California Alliance for Health (Medi-Cal)
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
Evernorth
GTEB
Gold Coast Health Plan (Medi-Cal)
Gold Coast Health Plan Total Care Advantage (HMO D-SNP)
Health Net (Commercial)
Health Net (Medi-Cal)
Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley (Medi-Cal)
CalViva Health (Medi-Cal)
Health Plan of San Joaquin/Mountain Valley Health Plan – Medi-Cal
Humana - Medicare
Humana Dual (Medicare & Medicaid)
L.A. Care PASC-SEIU
L.A. Care Covered
L.A. Care Covered Direct
L.A. Care Health Plan (Medi-Cal)
L.A. Care Medicare Plus (HMO D-SNP)
Partnership HealthPlan of California (Medi-Cal)
SFHP Care Plus (HMO D-SNP)
San Francisco Health Plan (Medi-Cal)
Santa Clara Family Health Plan - Medi-Cal
Scripps Health Plan
Tufts Health/Cigna
Location
Virtual
My treatment methods
Psychodynamic
I provide a client-centered, psychodynamic approach with long term clients to investigate the true origins of mental health challenges in order to address root causes of mental health conditions. This is a relationship-based approach where the therapeutic relationship is used to create a genuine, professional connection with each client. This allows for the development of trust and safety in the therapeutic process, which results in the comfort a client needs to process difficult past experiences and unaddressed trauma so they can move forward in their life.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I am trained in CBT style interventions where we explore how thoughts and feelings are related to behavior. I generally apply this as a background process that we work on each week in session as part of the process of reviewing difficult situations and maladaptive repeating thoughts, feelings, body sensations or behaviors.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have been trained in DBT and have used it with clients struggling with dysregulated emotional content. This is usually applied as a process of psychoeducation and training for managing reoccurring strong emotions that are affecting quality of life outcomes.
Motivational Interviewing
I have a long history of practice with MI. I use this process of communication in each of my sessions to center the client in the process of change and to take a guiding role in each clients process of self-exploration. The techniques of MI are subtle and are designed to facilitate understanding and connection, which is crucial for the style of therapy I provide.
Trauma Informed Care
I have a significant training in Trauma Informed Care and have provided support to people with significant PTSD throughout my practice. I believe that much of what affects mental health is related to environmental and experiential factors.
4 ratings with written reviews
June 5, 2026
He made me feel safe, and I was able to open up to him immediately. He followed along my storytelling with validation and emotional support.
Verified client, age 25-34
May 14, 2026
Stewart is a keen listener, dedicated to fully understanding everything that’s being presented to him. He is patient, calm, and makes observations at the right moments in gentle, solid ways. Highly recommended.
Verified client, age 55-64
April 17, 2026
Instantly, I sensed Stewart’s calm, confident, intelligent, professional presence, and felt his intention in considering the modalities in his wheelhouse that might be applicable to my situation and emotional needs, Excellent first session.