01 · Who Lori works with

Lori works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Lori lists 16 specialisms and 31 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Lori chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Lori's own words

What Lori says about the work

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

I have been a Licensed practicing therapist for 7 years. My approach is to treat the whole person. I am also a Holistic Nutritionist, Hypnotherapist and Life Coach. I believe the most successful treatment can be attributed to two important factors. The first is understanding how the mind, body and spirit connects; as the mind and body are not separate and to treat the mind the body must also be treated and vice versa. The second is in understanding and healing the roots of the past. I specialize in Trauma Therapy and am certified in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprogramming (EMDR) and believe the root of most issues lies in the past. Understanding how past beliefs affects your present circumstances and through understanding and identifying your values and beliefs is the second important element of healing.

I work with a wide range of issues including depression, anxiety disorders, panic, personality disorders, mood disorders, trauma including PTSD, and list of other issues and challenges. I enjoy counseling and educating my clients. My approach is eclectic and integrative style of psychotherapy. I adapt my sessions to the unique needs of each specific client, depending on the problem, the client's expectations, treatment goals and motivation. Some of the common forms of therapeutic techniques I use includes: Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, Dialectical Behavioral Techniques, Solution Focused Techniques and EMDR and Exposure therapy. I understand that no two people are alike and each client needs to be dealt with individually. I believe every person is a miracle and every person has an unlimited potential. I feel it is important to help each person understand their worth. Every person is important and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

I believe it often takes courage to get help and if you are ready to take that step, I am looking forward to working with you.

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

03 · How Lori works

The 11 approaches Lori lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Lori lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Lori'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 Lori 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.

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.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR

A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.

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.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Internal Family SystemsIFS

Treats the mind as made up of parts - the critic, the one who withdraws, the one that keeps everything running - each of which is trying to protect you. The work is getting to know them rather than overruling them.

Also listed

• Hypnotherapy
• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Lori 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 Lori'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 Lori at this point.

2. Naming Lori specifically

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

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 Lori

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

Arizona

Licence

AZ LPC LPC-18905

Licence number

LPC-18905

Licence expires

31 Mar 2028

NPI

1891316907

Years in practice

11

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Lori'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 Lori. 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.