01 · Who Katie works with

Katie works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Katie lists 14 specialisms and 18 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Katie chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Katie's own words

What Katie says about the work

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

**An important note before we get started: I am currently living overseas and am offering messaging ONLY services to new clients due to the time difference. In the future we may work towards a phone or video session if schedules allow.*

Hello and welcome!

If you’re here, it’s probably not because you’re feeling great about life at the moment. You might be feeling pretty miserable. Maybe you aren’t sure what steps to take or how to talk about it. That is okay! Change can be scary and challenging. That is why it can be helpful to have someone in your corner to provide support and help you figure out where you are and where you want to be.

I am Katie Smith, a licensed professional counselor (LPC/LCMHC) in North Carolina. I have experience working with adults, teens, and families in both individual and group settings. I have enjoyed working with a variety of clients, including survivors of trauma, domestic violence and sexual assault, military spouses, and those experiencing anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder (BPD). As a therapist intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, I have worked extensively with clients experiencing chronic suicidal thoughts and chaotic interpersonal relationships. My approach to counseling is grounded in person-centered and cognitive behavioral theories. All that really means is that I have respect for your individuality and ability to direct your own path. I believe that, even if you don’t feel like it right now, you are the expert on your life. My job is to collaborate with you on determining your goals and individual needs. My hope is to empower each client to take charge of their narrative and determine their own path. My role as counselor will be to provide support through unconditional positive regard and a strong client-counselor therapeutic relationship as we explore thought and behavior patterns.

Let's get started on developing more productive ways to handle the issues that are standing in the way of your goals.

"It's not a matter of letting go-you would if you could. Instead of 'let it go' we should probably say 'let it be.'" ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

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

03 · How Katie works

The 5 approaches Katie lists, in plain English

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

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.

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.

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

Katie 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 Katie'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 Katie at this point.

2. Naming Katie specifically

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

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

2 questions worth asking Katie

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

• “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

LCMHC

Licensed in

North Carolina

Licence

NC LCMHC 13314

Licence number

13314

Licence expires

30 Jun 2027

NPI

1083123426

Years in practice

5

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Katie'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 Katie. 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.