Steve Sainato

Steve was raised in the little town of New Castle, PA which consists of Italians, Catholics, and some great food! He was always a sensitive child often being aware of the emotions of others and how they affected him. His life drastically changed, however, when he lost his father to cancer at the age of 15. Although this was very difficult for him it led him to become a Christian which has been influential throughout his life. In college, Steve obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Duquesne and went on to achieve his Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, while also acquiring a license in social work.  At this point, Steve worked with those who suffered from severe to persistent mental illness. Working as a service coordinator, he acquired experience assisting individuals suffering from schizophrenia, depression, addiction, adolescents, those struggling with OCD, and other mental illnesses.  After working at a mental health care nursing home, Steve began to question his career as a social worker. A couple in the past had encouraged him to consider going to seminary, and sensing that his life was at a transition point, he decided to return to school with the hopes of working in Christian ministry. 

While at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), Steve spent time in personal counseling wrestling with depression and anxiety. This was a difficult time; however, slowly through therapy, friends, and his church Steve was able to find healing and learn a lot through the process. He decided to switch into the counseling program after realizing he wanted to work with people one-on-one and receiving confirmation from family and friends. He went on to earn his Master’s in Counseling at DTS. 

Primarily, Steve works with adults of all ages. Some of the issues he seeks to help with are depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, isolation, anger, communication skills, getting unstuck, conflict management, assertiveness, suicidality, intimacy, infidelity, relationship issues, emotional awareness, and negative thinking. He considers his Christian faith an important part of the counseling process as it frames the inherent worth of the people with whom he counsels.  Steve enjoys hearing people’s stories about who they are and where they are going in life.  He wants to help them feel heard and through that, provide empathic understanding to help them work through their struggles and difficulties.

Outside of counseling, Steve can be found playing guitar at his church and playing banjo with several musicians around the Dallas area (or wherever he can find a group!).  Steve enjoys writing music as well and feels it is a great creative outlet. Steve’s Christian faith continues to be important to him and it impacts all aspects of his life in some way or form.