Brett Smith

Brett Smith is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 22 years of clinical experience. He helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, and struggles with self-esteem and relationships. He also supports concerns such as grief, intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping problems, parenting challenges, anger, career stress, and compassion fatigue.

He draws on his experience as a combat veteran and former law enforcement officer to understand trauma from both personal and clinical angles. That background has shaped his focus on long-lasting trauma symptoms and personality-related difficulties. He has spent much of his career helping people untangle trauma reactions and personality disorder patterns.

His style is direct and focused on clear tools and skills. He commonly uses dialectical behavior therapy and also works with cognitive behavioral approaches and mindfulness practices. He has post-graduate work in hypnotherapy and describes clinical hypnotherapy influenced by Ericksonian and transformational ideas.

Clinical work has included emergency department psychiatric assessments, which he says strengthened his diagnostic clarity for complex cases. He combines practical skills training with attention to how past experiences shape present behavior. Sessions aim to set manageable goals and build everyday coping skills.

Outside of practice he and his wife enjoy sailing, backpacking, kayaking, and dog training. He also produces videos on topics related to therapy and mental health that people may find helpful.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online work

Mindfulness Therapy focuses on present-moment awareness and simple attention practices that help reduce reactivity and improve emotional regulation. It can be useful for stress, anxiety, sleep problems, and body-image concerns.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns. It is often used for depression, anxiety, and coping with life changes.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, emphasizes skills in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindful awareness. Those skills are practical for managing intense emotions, relationship problems, and self-destructive patterns.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and needs and then suggest approaches or combinations that fit. That decision is collaborative and may change as progress is made.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm which session formats are offered before booking since the biography does not list them. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. It can also let people use video or audio options depending on bandwidth, comfort with being on camera, or the need for a quicker phone-style check-in.