Kelly Smith
Compassionate, experienced guidance for life changes
LCSW Virginia
- Experience
- 30 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, LGBT, Relationship
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
- Languages
- English
About Kelly
Kelly Smith is a licensed clinical social worker with three decades of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and a range of relational and identity concerns.
Background and approach
Located in Virginia, Kelly brings a calm, validating presence and tailors conversations to each person’s needs, drawing on a broad clinical background that includes work with LGBTQ issues, ADHD, grief, addictions, intimacy-related difficulties, parenting challenges, and compassion fatigue.
Kelly's practice emphasizes collaboration and respect, combining evidence-informed techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with client-centered, mindfulness, and dialectical approaches to support practical skill building and deeper self-understanding. Sessions are shaped to match individual goals, whether that means learning coping strategies, resolving communication or attachment issues, or processing past trauma.
As a therapist who also has supervised clinicians, Kelly integrates years of clinical judgment with an approachable, interactive style. Prospective clients are invited to begin with a short matching questionnaire and schedule based on availability, and the therapist works within a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How therapeutic approaches guide online care
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is focused on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors; it is often used to address anxiety, depression, and stress by teaching practical coping skills and structured problem solving. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, validation, and a nonjudgmental stance that helps people explore their feelings and values at their own pace; this approach supports self-directed growth and stronger self-understanding. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) combines acceptance and change strategies, teaching skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improved interpersonal effectiveness, which can be especially helpful for intense emotions and relationship difficulties.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with clients to clarify goals, try different techniques, and adapt methods over time so that sessions align with the client's needs, preferences, and life circumstances.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, making it easier to fit support into busy schedules or to continue care across locations. Those options allow for real-time conversation, teachable moments between sessions, and varied ways to engage depending on comfort and accessibility, while licensed professionals guide the therapeutic work.
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Licensed
New York, California, Virginia, Washington
Languages
English