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LS Portrait of Luciana Smalls

Luciana Smalls

Compassionate, skills-focused therapy

LPC South Carolina

Experience
9 years in practice
Focus areas
Stress, Anxiety, Relationship, Family
Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages
English
Continue with Luciana

About Luciana

Luciana Smalls is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in South Carolina who draws on a cognitive-behavioral foundation alongside humanistic influences to help clients navigate stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, addiction, and life transitions.

Background and approach

With nine years of clinical experience and a longer history in human services, she blends practical skills training with compassionate support to help people translate difficult patterns into workable strategies. Her approach balances challenge and empathy, offering evidence-informed techniques such as CBT and elements of dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and Imago relationship work when appropriate.

Luciana pays close attention to each person’s identity, cultural background, and values while collaborating on individualized treatment plans that address goals like improved communication, emotional regulation, grief processing, parenting concerns, or coping with ADHD and trauma. Clients encounter a therapeutic style that is both nurturing and goal-oriented, aimed at building concrete skills alongside personal insight.

She emphasizes collaborative planning so that people leave sessions with tools they can apply between meetings, whether working through family-of-origin issues, caregiving stress, intimacy or commitment problems, or career and life-stage changes.

Approaches That Guide Online Care



Luciana frequently integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients identify and shift thinking patterns that fuel anxiety, depression, and unhelpful behavior. CBT offers concrete techniques and homework-based practice to build coping skills and change reactions to stressful situations. She also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes a supportive, respectful relationship and helps people explore values, identity, and personal goals at their own pace.

Finding the right mix of methods is collaborative; the therapist works with each person to choose approaches that match their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they develop an individualized plan, adjusting techniques like mindfulness exercises or DBT skills as progress and priorities evolve.

Online sessions are available through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different schedules and comfort levels. This flexibility makes it easier to maintain consistent care while balancing work, family, or caregiving responsibilities, and supports access to ongoing skills practice between appointments.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does she commonly address?
Her practice focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family issues, parenting, addiction, trauma and grief, and related topics such as body image, caregiving stress, and intimacy concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She uses a nurturing yet challenging approach that combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with client-centered support, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and other methods to build skills and insight.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings nine years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor plus additional background working in human services over a longer period.
Where is she licensed to practice?
She holds the credential LPC with license number SC LPC 7774 and practices in South Carolina.
Does she offer services in other languages or to international clients?
She provides services in English and is not currently accepting international clients.
Which session formats are available?
Sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences.
How are fees and payment handled?
Costs vary depending on location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule appointments based on the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesFamily conflictsParenting issuesSelf esteem

Also works with

AddictionsLGBTTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesAnger managementCareer difficultiesDepressionCoping with life changesCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

Adoption and foster careBlended family issuesBody imageCaregiver issues and stressCommitment issuesCommunication problemsDivorce and separationFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesForgivenessGuilt and shameHospice and end-of-life counselingImpulsivityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMidlife crisisMulticultural concernsPostpartum depressionSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Imago Relationship TherapyMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingSolution-Focused Therapy

Experience

9+ years

Licensed

South Carolina

Languages

English