Stephanie Levy, LMHP

Note: I have never been a client of Stephanie Levy’s, however, I do have firsthand experience with the care she provides her clients. Stephanie is well known in the fire service world as the “go to” for first responders. So, when my ex-husband was experiencing depression and suicidal/homicidal ideations, she was my first call. After a few sessions, I felt that his behavior was worsening so I started joining their sessions to ensure he was telling her everything. Stephanie and I began emailing back and forth so I could give her updates or seek guidance when needed. One afternoon, my ex was threatening suicide and took off. After emailing her the entire situation and asking for help on what to do, her response was “he seems to get like that when he’s really amped up, we will definitely address that next session.” Umm, how is that helping me now? I feel that my history as a fire wife for 10 years and being around a lot of firefighters during that time makes me qualified to say that firefighters are not seeking help fast enough and when they do seek help, they are directed to a provider who will just tell them what they want to hear. If you read her bio on her website she states one of the aspects she loves about working with the fire service population is their dark humor. Dark humor is a coping mechanism - her job as a therapist should be to help them work through their traumatic calls, not revel in their obvious mental anguish. Trauma work is just that - work. It’s mentally taxing and takes a lot of time and energy - both of which firefighters lack. So instead, they decide to put a “bandaid” on it and choose a provider who won’t hold them accountable and won’t force them to dig deep, a provider like Stephanie Levy