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.
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