(she/her)
My name is Krista Smith and I have been in the mental health field since 2018. I started out in Residential care - working with teens who struggle with severe mental health challenges. I specialize using DBT as I have seen first hand, its effectiveness. I love its practicality and teaching aspect of coping skills. I have always had a passion of helping those who (at the moment) can't help themselves. It is amazing to see people gain confidence and ability to create their life worth living.
I use the first session as information gathering - a way to gain understanding of what the presenting problems are impacting clients' day to day wellbeing. I give brief expectations of therapy and how DBT can help clients reach their goals.
Since working in Residential care, I have experience with most (if not all) mental health challenges. I know what works and what doesn't. I am not in the business of wasting anyone's time and my ultimate goal is getting client's back to 100%.
I teach the 4 core skills of DBT: mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These are practical skills that anyone can use to better themselves and gain confidence to cope with their day to day struggles. My ideal client is someone I can help guide to make decisions and empower them to meet their short/long term goals.
I use CBT to help individuals identify and change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress or mental health challenges.
I use DBT to help individuals with severe emotional dsyregulation. It is based upon CBT principals and places strong emphasis on acceptance and change. DBT teaches 4 core skills: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.