Dana Smith
Hello! As a licensed professional counselor, I provide a safe, non-judgmental space to help you with your mental health concerns. With over 16 years of helping experience working in behavioral health, private practice, and in the school setting, I enjoy working with teens and adults to help support with multiple issues from anxiety, stress, and self esteem, to attachment and relationship management.
First session
I hope a new client feels heard and hopeful after a first session. I want you to begin to make sense of what brought you to therapy. My goal in our first session is to create a comfortable, collaborative space where you can talk openly about what you're experiencing and what you hope will change. We will begin building rapport by understanding your story, identifying the concerns that are most important to you, and exploring what you would like to gain out of therapy.
Strengths
While solution focused, I take a compassionate, reflective approach to your mental health concerns. You drive how quickly you want to grow and change. Generally I use a cognitive behavioral approach while incorporating psychodynamics for understanding the background to your current challenges.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who may be struggling with anxiety, stress, self-esteem, relationships, family concerns, anger, trauma, or a difficult transition in life. They may feel stuck in patterns they don't fully understand or find themselves struggling with thoughts and emotions that are difficult to manage or talk about. I especially enjoy working with people who want to understand themselves on a deeper level. My clients may come to therapy wanting to feel less anxious, more confident, better able to manage their emotions, or more comfortable in their relationships. Ultimately, I want to help them develop greater self-understanding, healthier ways of coping, and the confidence to move forward in a way that feels authentic and works for them.
Origin story
I was drawn to psychology and counseling generally because I believe that positive mental health is critical to developing and achieving one's full potential and personal growth. I've always wanted to understand what's underneath the surface-why we think the way we do, why certain experiences affect us the way they do, and how we can move forward. I believe that people don't need someone to fix them; they need someone who listens without judgment and helps them make sense of what they're experiencing. Counseling gives me the opportunity to do that in a meaningful way.
Ongoing work together
Ongoing sessions will be collaborative and progressive-each session builds on what you have learned, noticed, and experienced previously and in between sessions. Early sessions focus on learning a client's history, current concerns, relationships, patterns, strengths, and goals. Together we will develop strategies that fit your needs (managing anxiety, challenging unhelpful thought patterns, regulating emotions, communicating more effectively, or setting healthier boundaries). You will know you are making progress by looking at what works between sessions, what you notice about yourself and how therapy continually adapts to help in real life. Recognizing and sustaining progress will help you have the confidence to use what you've learned independently.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
While solution focused, I take a compassionate, reflective approach to your mental health concerns. You drive how quickly you want to grow and change. Generally I use a cognitive behavioral approach while incorporating psychodynamics for understanding the background to your current challenges. CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are interconnected. Sometimes we get caught in patterns of thinking that can increase anxiety, sadness, anger, or other difficult emotions and those emotions can then influence how we respond. In therapy we will start noticing these patterns and work on ways of looking at responses that are helpful and balanced versus the ones that are not.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- PennsylvaniaLicense PC006663