LCSW
Kelly Smith, LCSW
- Experience30 years
- LocationVirginia
- Focus areasADHD, Stress and Anxiety, and LGBT
- Therapy approachesClient-Centered Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Check the available next steps for working with Kelly online.
About Kelly
Kelly Smith is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with three decades of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, ADHD, depression, trauma, relationship challenges, and a wide range of other concerns.
Background and approach
Kelly draws on long experience supporting clients through grief, addiction, intimacy-related struggles, parenting issues, and identity concerns connected to LGBT matters, tailoring care to each individual’s situation and goals. Her style is warm, interactive, and collaborative, emphasizing validation, respect, and sensitivity.
Kelly blends client-centered listening with evidence-informed techniques such as cognitive behavioral strategies and dialectical behavior skills, and she integrates mindfulness and motivational interviewing where useful. This mix allows her to adapt conversations and interventions to what a person needs in the moment while keeping sight of longer-term growth.
Practicing in Virginia and licensed as an LCSW, Kelly approaches therapy as a partnership that honors each person’s strengths and challenges. She encourages those ready to make changes to take the first step, offering steady guidance and practical tools to move toward greater balance and wellbeing.
Approaches That Guide Online Sessions
Kelly often uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help people identify unhelpful thought patterns and develop practical skills for managing anxiety, stress, and mood symptoms. CBT focuses on concrete strategies and behavioral experiments that can be practiced between sessions to produce measurable change.She also incorporates dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) tools and mindfulness techniques to support emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and present-moment awareness. DBT skills can be especially useful for managing intense emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness, while mindfulness practices help build steadiness and focus over time.
Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the collaborative work Kelly offers. She explores each client's goals, preferences, and life circumstances to recommend and adapt techniques, and she reviews progress regularly so the plan evolves with the client's needs.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and access to care. These formats make it possible to fit therapy into busy schedules, maintain momentum between appointments, and choose the communication style that feels most comfortable for each person.
Frequently asked questions
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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
What Kelly can help with
Kelly Smith works with clients on stress and anxiety, LGBT, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, and depression.
Kelly works with people experiencing depression, anxiety, relationship dynamics, and parenting.
How Kelly approaches therapy
Kelly's clinical approaches include Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Psychodynamic Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Somatic Therapy.
Experience and training
Kelly is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Virginia, with 30 years of clinical experience.