01 · Who Delores works with

Delores works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and grief

Delores lists 14 specialisms and 10 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Delores chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Delores's own words

What Delores says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a clinically trained social worker with more than 40 years of experience. My treatment specialties include depression, anxiety, and grief counseling. I assist with the resolution of work-related concerns. I am also a trained life coach, helping people make decisions related to changes they would like to have in their lives while achieving work/life balance. I also provide behavior modification, problem-solving, and motivation therapy. I work with couples of all kinds, knowing that being a couple or family cannot be defined only in the traditional sense. I take a broad view in this area.

The basis for my efforts is insight therapy. I encourage those who work with me to consider how their decisions and actions enhance or impair the attainment of their goals. This type of understanding is critical for making meaningful life changes.

My work is for and about you! We will go as far and as fast as you are able. Although I offer clarity in recognizing the issues that concern you, I will never take you where you do not want to go. Our work will be free of judgment, allowing you to speak and respond openly. I will always respect you and value what you share with me.

You have made the right decision by embarking on a therapeutic relationship. I hope you choose me to help guide you on that journey.

Delores Smith, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Delores works

The 6 approaches Delores lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Delores lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Delores's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Delores runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT

Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Also listed

• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Delores practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Delores's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Delores at this point.

2. Naming Delores specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Delores is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Delores.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Delores

Built from what Delores actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Delores's - Delores has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “With 47 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

Virginia

Licence

VA LCSW 0904001262

Licence number

0904001262

Licence expires

30 Jun 2027

NPI

1467529107

Years in practice

47

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Delores's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Delores. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.