Willow Wakeley-Smith, LCSW

Willow Wakeley-Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Missouri who focuses on thoughts and everyday habits that shape how people feel and act. She helps with stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, depression, ADHD, motivation, and confidence. Her approach is practical and respectful, and she aims to make therapy lead to real changes in daily life.

Willow configures treatment plans to fit each person’s needs and adjusts them as goals evolve. She draws on a range of approaches to address mood differences, grief, relationship strains, and sleep or concentration problems. Her work with parents and students in school settings gave her a close view of parenting stress and practical family concerns.

She brings five years of clinical experience working with adults who have moderate to significant mental health concerns. That experience includes helping people manage addictions, trauma and abuse, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and issues around identity and LGBT concerns. Willow emphasizes measurable progress and life changes rather than abstract goals.

Sessions focus on concrete skill-building, shifting unhelpful thought patterns, and improving everyday routines. She also addresses caregiver stress, hoarding, impulsivity, and isolation with tailored strategies. The goal is to leave sessions with tools that can be used the next day.

Willow practices in Missouri and conducts therapy in English. If the topics above feel relevant, she invites prospective clients to start the matching process and schedule a session to see if the fit is right.

How these approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes the person’s perspective and priorities. The therapist listens closely and shapes sessions around what matters most to the client, helping people feel heard and trusted. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and habits. It offers concrete exercises and behavior experiments that aim to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and change daily routines.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Willow will collaborate with each person to choose and adapt methods based on goals, preferences, and what proves helpful in early sessions. That means trying strategies, checking what works, and shifting course when needed.

Confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are available. Online therapy can make it easier to fit care into a busy life - for example by avoiding travel time, allowing shorter check-ins during a break, or enabling sessions when leaving home would be difficult. It also supports continuing skill practice between meetings, since many exercises focus on real-life routines and thought patterns.