Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Stringham.
Hi Steven, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi Ya’ll, here’s a little about me. I grew up here in Ogden, had a pretty typical and awesome childhood. Went to Ben Lomond High School, graduated there in 2007. From there went to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to Paraguay where I learned so much about myself and others. Yes I became fluent in Spanish but more importantly I learned to love people where they were at, not just what they were capable of or because of their potential. After my time in Paraguay I started my schooling up at Weber State Weber State Great Great Great. I really had a hard time with school and didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. But I met my wife there, Ashley, and she changed my life forever. Such a great woman. I tried out a Marriage and interpersonal relationships course, as a gen-ed requirement (because my wife had taken that class and enjoyed it). So I took that class and it was taught by Dr Mark Adams and on my goodness, it was great. He was a licensed marriage and family therapist and I felt that he really did love teaching about this stuff. Sure we learned about communication and different dynamics in relationships but my mind lit up and finally found something worth spending my time on. So I set sail down that path of getting my Bachelors in Child and Family Studies, then getting into a Masters of Marriage and Family therapy program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. I worked with the Juvenile Drug Court in Louisiana and at the Campus Counseling services. We loved being away and it was a challenging but great experience, but we wanted to be closer to family and come back to Utah. We’re both big into snow sports,. Skiing and Snowboarding and there wasn’t any of that going on down in the bayou. So I got a job as a therapist at a treatment center back here in Utah and was there for about 4 years then I broke out on my own and started my practice Into The Storm Therapy. Now every once in a while a client will ask me why I named my business Into The Storm Therapy, and here’s why. You may have heard of the tale about the buffalo and how they tend to face the storm rather than running away from it. When I was thinking of what to call my practice I loved that idea of charging into my clientele’s storms with them and facing their problems with them head on. I currently work with all sorts of people, however, my main focus is with first responders. I started that about 3 years ago and have loved working with these amazing men and women in my local community. And because I am a husband and a father first then a therapist, I want to end with the most important part, i couldn’t be here without the amazing support of my wife, and during all these adventures with school and work, we managed to create our own basketball starting lineup, we have 5 beautiful kids that are seriously the greatest people that i have ever met.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely been a rough road, we have had our fair share of obstacles. One major one was navigating the impact that COvid had on the treatment center industry. I started to worry and read between some of the lines and got out as quick as I could, even though so many people warned me about starting a private practice and how hard it was, and starting it during a pandemic was that much more insane. But there were some absolutely miracles that we stumbled into. I got to know and received an amazing amount of help from some amazing people who saw things in me that I had a hard time noticing in myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Sometimes this title can be confusing because I don’t just work with marriages or families. I spent a good portion of my career working with teenagers and their parents. I learned a lot during those years. I still do quite a bit of work with teens and their parents. However, I have leaned in a different direction of working with first responders and their families. A lot of people in these fields are misunderstood professionally and personally. I believe that my life experiences have allowed me to learn the importance of meeting people where they’re at. An important goal of mine in an intake session is to make sure that the client feels that I absolutely care, and that they can feel understood. I have loved hearing the words “I don’t really believe in therapy” and then building to a point where my client looks forward to therapy and they share in their victories.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
A favorite childhood memory of mine is going to the Windriver Wilderness range with our scout group but mainly with my dad. We would hike in about 7 miles and fish in some of the prettiest terrain you could ever imagine. I experience a deep satisfaction when I am deep in the mountains and in the wild. There was a specific year where my dad taught me to fly fish. I remember how patient he was and how many flies I kept getting snagged in the trees but I loved it. I just recently taught my two oldest kids, 11 and 9 years old, how to fly fish and I got to relive that memory from the other side. It was amazing.
Pricing:
- My hourly rate is 155.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://intothestormtherapy.clientsecure.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.t.s._therapy/#
