01 · Who Dr. works with

Dr. works with stress, Anxiety, LGBT and relationship issues

Dr. lists 16 specialisms and 29 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Dr. chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Dr.'s own words

What Dr. says about the work

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

I have a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the States of Colorado and Texas, US I am a Nationally Certified Counselor in the US, and a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider in the state of Texas, US. have 6+ years of experience in the mental health counseling field. I use an approach which integrates Choice Theory (understanding that our choices lead to consequences, and everything we do/don't do is still a choice) along with evidence-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy. I strongly believe that the relationship between a client and counselor is the necessary ingredient to support change.

I am competent and experienced in providing professional counseling in clinical mental health counseling; correctional counseling; sexual abuser specific counseling; adult and juvenile; pornography addictions; adjustment to major life changes; personality disorders; relationship and communication counseling.

I have experience and training in online and face to face environments and believe in the “meet them where they are” strengths-based approach to counseling. With experience providing counseling services to individuals, juveniles, and groups, I have worked with clients experiencing active suicidality and suicidal ideation, as well as with clients with active hallucinations and delusions. I have experience with clients from many cultures, races, and ethnicities. These include but are not limited to members of the neurodivergent, BIPOC community, LGBTQIA+ communities, and clients with varied religious and legal backgrounds.

I have extensive experience working with justice involved individuals including those with substance use, sexual abuse, guilt, and shame over past behaviors, and those with active psychopathy, and those with neurodevelopment challenges and neurodivergence. I hold sexual abuser specific licensure in Texas, ADHD/ASD level one adult diagnostic assessment and treatment training, and have completed level one Gottman Method couples counseling and enjoy working with partners looking to expand their relationships.

Working with clients to help them find their answers to their questions is a joy. Helping other humans learn communication techniques that help them learn to listen and speak to be heard. Watching change unfold and people find their personal path through pain, fear, and hopelessness is an ongoing benefit of working in the counseling field.

Dr. Tina Smith, on the BetterHelp listing · read 8 Nov 2026

03 · How Dr. works

The 7 approaches Dr. lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Dr. lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Dr.'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 Dr. runs a session.

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.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

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.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

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.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Dr. 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 Dr.'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 Dr. at this point.

2. Naming Dr. specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Dr. 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 Dr..

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 Dr.

Built from what Dr. actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Dr.'s - Dr. 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.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “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

LPC

Licensed in

Colorado

Licence

TX LPC 82310, CO LPC 0018507

Licence number

82310

Licence expires

31 Aug 2027

NPI

1932879236

Years in practice

8

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Dr.'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 8 Nov 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 Dr.. 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.