01 · Who Phyllis works with

Phyllis works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

Phyllis lists 16 specialisms and 41 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Phyllis chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Phyllis's own words

What Phyllis says about the work

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

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with more than five years experience in providing therapy for individuals, couples, and families. My experience include working with a diverse population in regard to age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other diversity factors.

I believe people have the ability to become their best self mentally, emotionally, and physically. My approach to counseling, therefore, involves genuine interest in your hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations in order to reach your greatest level of wellness and potential. I take a collaborative approach in identifying your specific goals for counseling and guide you toward them. I am a strengths-based therapist who utilizes the positive aspects of your life to build resiliency, restores hope, and open the door for new perspectives. I identify opportunities for growth and will challenge you in a nurturing and empathetic manner as you acquire and implement new patterns of thinking and behavior.

My primary counseling modalities include Bowenian (personal growth and development), experiential, structural and strategic, with a systems approach, or the idea that a person is best understood by the contexts in with they live and relate with other people. However, due to the unique needs and circumstances of every individual, I will use different methods of therapy based on those needs.

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

03 · How Phyllis works

The 5 approaches Phyllis lists, in plain English

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

The Gottman Method

A couples approach built on decades of observational research into what distinguishes relationships that last. Structured and assessment-led: it maps friendship, conflict and shared meaning, then works on the specific mechanics of how the two of you argue.

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

• Existential Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Phyllis 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 Phyllis'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 Phyllis at this point.

2. Naming Phyllis specifically

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

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 Phyllis

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

LMFT

Licensed in

North Carolina

Licence

NC LMFT 1905

Licence number

1905

Licence expires

1 Jul 2027

NPI

1598111866

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

Phyllis'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 Phyllis. 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.