Lori Smith
Calm, practical support for everyday struggles
- Credentials
- LPC
- Experience
- 11 years
- Licensed in
- Arizona
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Lori
Lori Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Arizona. She focuses on common concerns parents notice - stress, anxiety, sleep and eating struggles, addiction, grief, and changes in mood or behavior. Lori keeps language simple and practical so worried parents can follow along.
She draws on 11 years of experience to offer steady, direct support without extra jargon. In sessions she treats the person as a whole, paying attention to patterns of thinking, bodily reactions, and life habits.
Background and approach
Lori uses approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT - to change unhelpful thoughts and actions. She also works with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - ACT - ideas to help people clarify what matters to them and take manageable steps toward those values. Lori combines methods to match each person’s needs and goals.
She tailors each session based on what the person brings in and what progress looks like over time. Expect practical tools, clear explanations, and a focus on skills you can try between visits. She also addresses trauma and uses EMDR when appropriate to help with painful memories and stuck reactions.
Lori places emphasis on understanding how past experiences shape current patterns and on building new, safer ways of coping. Her manner is respectful and encouraging. She aims to help people see their strengths and find concrete ways forward, one step at a time.
How Lori’s Approaches Translate to Online Sessions
Lori commonly draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT - to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT gives concrete steps and small experiments clients can try between sessions, which works well over video or text. She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - ACT - to help people clarify personal values and take committed, doable actions toward them. ACT focuses on what matters most and on building flexible responses to difficult feelings.Choosing the right approach is a joint process. Lori recommends trying methods that match the person’s goals and preferences, and she adjusts as needed. The therapist and client decide together which techniques fit best, and progress is reviewed regularly to refine the plan.
Online formats offered include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules, respond between meetings with brief messages, and keep momentum when life gets hectic. For many people, remote sessions provide greater convenience while still allowing practical skills coaching, guided exercises, and trauma-focused work like EMDR when appropriate.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she work with?
What is her general therapy style?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she located?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How does payment and cost work?
How do I begin the process?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Hypnotherapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 11 years
- Licensed
- Arizona
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Lori
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point