Lisa Smith, LCSW

Lisa Smith is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of practice. She helps people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, anger, compassion fatigue, addiction concerns, and life changes. She also addresses relationship and family worries, self-esteem, career questions, and LGBT-related concerns. Her work emphasizes thoughts and everyday habits as part of making small changes that add up.

She keeps sessions direct and practical. Conversations focus on what matters now and on steps people can try between meetings. Lisa uses tools from cognitive and behavioral approaches to spot unhelpful thinking and shift daily routines. She also draws on acceptance-oriented strategies and skills that teach emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Over three decades she has supported people facing trauma, abuse, domestic violence, and complex mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. She also works with issues like obsessive-compulsive patterns, panic attacks, paranoia, and co-morbid conditions that complicate recovery. Hospice and end-of-life concerns, intellectual disability, and coping after disasters are part of her experience.

Sessions aim to build practical coping plans, clarify values and life purpose, and reduce patterns that fuel shame or isolation. She uses motivational techniques when people feel stuck and solution-focused methods to set concrete short-term goals. Lisa explains skills in everyday language and helps people practice them until they fit into daily life.

Based in Missouri, she brings a steady, respectful presence to therapy. Her approach balances real-life problem solving with attention to emotional experience, helping people rebuild routines and regain forward motion.

Approaches that guide online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) asks people to notice thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values; it can help with feeling unmoored after big life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and changing behaviors that keep problems going, which is useful for anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills to help people handle intense emotions and relationship challenges.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Lisa will discuss what feels most useful for a person's goals and try techniques together to see what fits. Over time she adjusts methods based on how a person responds and what helps progress toward daily routines and values-driven actions.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know which formats are available. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce time spent traveling, or allow a shorter check-in when schedules are tight. It also lets people practice skills in the settings where their everyday habits happen, making it simpler to test new routines and coping strategies in real life.