Dr. Stephanie Thompson DSW, LCSW
Clinical Director, Riverside
Areas of Clinical Expertise
- A skilled clinician, Stephanie draws on a wide range of evidence-based approaches—including CBT, DBT, ACT, and motivational interviewing—to guide her teams in delivering individualized, trauma-informed care. She believes deeply in the power of collaboration and views every member of the care team as essential to a teen’s progress.
- Guided by values of accountability, altruism, and integrity, Stephanie is passionate about building clinical cultures where teens and families feel seen, supported, and empowered. Her leadership ensures that every young person who enters our Riverside programs receives compassionate, high-quality care.
- Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys beach walks, painting, antiquing, and studying the history of ancient Asian cultures. She recently relocated to Riverside to be closer to her children and grandchildren.
Experience
Dr. Stephanie Thompson brings more than 16 years of experience as a behavioral health leader, clinician, and program builder to her role as Clinical Director of our Riverside programs. Her career has been defined by a commitment to strengthening clinical quality, mentoring teams, and creating environments where meaningful healing can take place.
Education
Stephanie earned her Doctor of Social Work in Leadership, Management, and Innovation from the University of Southern California, where she also completed her Master of Social Work. Over her career, she has launched new programs, led large multidisciplinary teams, and improved clinical outcomes across multiple counties in California.
Who We Are
Muir Wood treats primary mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders with equal clinical depth. Our approach is mental health-first, trauma-informed throughout, and grounded in nationally recognized expertise in adolescent substance use treatment.
Every program is designed exclusively for teens, with specialized environments for those needing an even greater level of psychiatric, trauma, or clinical support — like our Penngrove campus for girls, and our upcoming Sonoma Mountain campus for boys (Fall '26).
Mental Health First
Every program treats primary MH — anxiety, depression, trauma, mood — as the core clinical focus.
Trauma-Informed Lens
Every staff interaction, not just therapy, is filtered through a trauma lens. It is our operating principle, not a modality.
Integrated SUD Expertise
Substance use is treated alongside mental health throughout all programs, not in a separate track.
Adolescent Specialists
Every clinician, psychiatrist, nurse, and educator works exclusively with teens ages 12–17.
We Treat the Whole Teen
Nothing is treated in isolation, because nothing exists in isolation.
Every teen arrives with behaviors that developed for a reason — ways of coping with or adapting to emotional pain. Our role is to understand what's driving those patterns and build healthier, more sustainable ways of regulating and coping.
Mental Health
Trauma Informed
Emotional Functioning
Family Systems
Why Specialized Programming Matters
Many teens benefit from environments designed around shared clinical presentations and needs.
Greater Peer Alignment
Shared clinical presentations create more cohesive, therapeutically relevant group dynamics.
Individualized Treatment
Approaches tailored to the specific developmental and psychiatric profile of each population.
Improved Emotional Safety
Environments designed to reduce threat, increase predictability, and foster genuine connection.
Clinically Relevant Groups
Group therapy dynamics mirror real-world experiences of teens with similar presentations.
Lower-Stimulation Environments
Sensory and environmental design calibrated to the needs of highly activated or sensitive teens.
Enhanced Psychiatric Support
Specialized staff training and clinical protocols matched to the population's complexity.