Pam Gehant-Smith
With over 30 years of experience, I have a broad and deep experience helping my clients explore their lives to make powerful and meaningful changes that determine how mental health challenges affect their lives. I bring a unique level of warmth, compassion, energy, and enthusiasm into my clinical work.
With over 30 years of experience, I have a broad and deep experience helping my clients explore their lives to make powerful and meaningful changes that determine how mental health challenges affect their lives.
I am a firm believer in “it takes a village” mindset, where together we build a stronger existence. Life can be overwhelming, reaching out for help, guidance and direction is one of our greatest strengths.
First session
During your first session, you will have the opportunity to discuss what specific events or issues that have happened to make you reach out for support. At your individual pace, you can share with me your thoughts in a safe and confidential session. I’m here to listen, reflect, challenge when needed and offer feedback!
Strengths
As a dedicated and supportive professional, she utilizes strength-based, practical-solution focused treatments such as CBT AND ACT, along with the benefit of alternate healing technique, which may include mindfulness and meditation.
Ideal clients
Pam provides counseling to clients that want to understand and minimize how mental health issues affect their day to day lives. With the goal of finding them long-term, healthy patterns and balance, Pam has enthusiasm to use her training to help each client find relief from unpleasant and unwanted feelings, emotions, and behaviors.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I have used ACT with my clients regularly. It is helpful when my clients thoughts are confusing, focusing on what is valuable to them can be helpful. Exploring with a client what is truly important to them can add clarity to their lives.
Grief Therapy
I use the Kubler-Ross framework to help my clients understand the importance of the grief process. I find that “loss” presents itself in many ways, loss of a loved one, a friendship, job, safe environment, etc. Grief is a normal response to a variety of life circumstances and can be quite helpful to my clients.
Strength-Based
I do prefer to create a treatment t plan that includes strength based exercises. Exploring what is working in a clients life can be helpful to use those strategies in the parts of their lives that are bothersome.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I routinely use CBT in my practice with clients. It has proven outcomes and exploring different cognitive distortions or beliefs can interfere with the way a client acts or behaves. Challenging clients to begin to make the correlation & connection between their thoughts and actions adds solutions to their treatment goals.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
White
Woman
Top specialties
Depression
Life Transitions
Women's Issues
Other specialties
Coping Skills
Grief
Learning Disabilities
Peer Relationships
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Licensed in
IllinoisLicense 180002834