Dr. Rita Smith, MD, LCPC, LPC - Therapist in Georgia

About Rita

Dr. Rita Smith is a licensed counselor with 25 years of work in the helping professions. She holds an MD and is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor.

She practices in Georgia and focuses on family and parenting concerns alongside relationship and personal challenges. She draws on client-centered work to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used to spot and change unhelpful thinking and behaviors.

Background and approach

Solution-Focused Therapy helps set clear, practical goals and small steps toward them. Over two and a half decades Dr. Smith has worked in community agencies, universities, independent practice, and military settings.

That range has shaped a practical approach to everyday problems like stress, anxiety, and communication breakdowns. She aims to help people find more meaning and satisfaction in their lives. In sessions she typically helps clients identify concrete next steps.

Topics she often addresses include parenting, family problems, career issues, grief, and coping with life changes. She also works with intimacy-related concerns, conflict, and recovery from trauma or abuse. Her practice uses a mix of talk-based strategies, skill building, and focused problem-solving.

Sessions emphasize clear goals, workable techniques, and steady progress toward what matters most to the client.

Therapeutic approaches for online family and relationship work

Dr. Smith commonly uses client-centered therapy to create a respectful, listening-first environment where clients lead the topics and the therapist reflects and supports. That approach helps people feel heard and clarifies what matters most to them.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavior changes. CBT is useful for stress, anxiety, mood concerns, and patterns that affect family or relationship functioning.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Dr. Smith collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. Together they track progress and adjust the plan as needed so sessions remain practical and results-oriented.

Online therapy offers flexibility for busy families and individuals. Video calls let people interact face to face when scheduling allows. Phone, live chat, and text-based messaging provide options for shorter check-ins, skill practice, or when meeting in real time is difficult. These formats support ongoing work on communication, parenting strategies, coping skills, and quick problem-solving without requiring travel.

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.

Mindfulness Therapy

Attention training: noticing thoughts and physical feelings as they arrive without being carried off by them. Much of it is practice you do yourself, so guidance over video or audio works much as it would in person.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does she address?

She works with many issues including stress, anxiety, relationship and family problems, parenting, self-esteem, career matters, grief, trauma and abuse, and intimacy-related challenges.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her style blends client-centered listening with practical tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy to set goals and change unhelpful patterns.

How much experience does she have?

She brings 25 years of experience in agencies, universities, independent practice, and military settings, which informs a practical and adaptable approach.

What are her credentials and where is she based?

She holds MD, LCPC, and LPC credentials with license details MD LCPC LC0480 and GA LPC LPC006779, and practices in Georgia.

What languages are supported and can international clients join?

Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.

What session formats are available?

Sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs.

How are sessions paid for and what does it cost?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin therapy with her?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Family conflicts

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 25 years
Licensed: Georgia, Maryland
Languages: English

Next step

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