Dr. Stephen Bentley , LPCC

Dr. Stephen Bentley is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in Kentucky with more than 32 years of clinical experience. He has held leadership roles, serving as a director and supervisor for over ten years, and has been with the same organization for the past two decades. Over his career he has provided both group and individual therapy in hospital settings and has conducted crisis intervention for people facing urgent needs.

He works from a person-centered foundation, prioritizing a collaborative working relationship that honors each individual’s readiness for change. He combines practical cognitive-behavioral techniques with humanistic, psychodynamic, and rational-emotive elements to address a wide array of concerns. His practice has included work with addiction, anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma and abuse, relationship and family difficulties, parenting challenges, grief, bipolar disorder, and a range of other issues.

Dr. Bentley has experience with populations affected by adoption and foster care, attachment challenges, aging and caregiving stress, autism spectrum differences, chronic pain and illness, and codependency among other focused concerns. In recent years he has integrated tele-health into his practice and views remote sessions as an effective way to reach people who find in-person visits difficult. He approaches each person with respect, sensitivity, and compassion while avoiding stigmatizing labels.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Dr. Stephen Bentley integrates several evidence-informed approaches into his work to match each person’s needs. Client-centered therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist supports the client’s own capacity for growth and change; it is useful for people seeking a compassionate, individualized path through relational, self-esteem, or life-transition concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and adjusting unhelpful thought and behavior patterns to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, and can be especially helpful for practical problem-solving and skill-building. Attachment-Based Therapy explores patterns formed in early relationships and how they affect current connections and emotion regulation, making it a strong fit for issues involving abandonment, attachment struggles, and intimate relationships.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Dr. Bentley collaborates with each person to clarify goals, consider preferences, and adjust methods over time so the treatment aligns with their needs and values. This collaborative stance helps find the best fit rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to engage through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules, reduce travel time, and maintain continuity of care across locations, while allowing licensed professionals and therapists to deliver focused, effective support in formats that suit each person’s circumstances.