Dr. Michael Smith

You may be someone others see as strong, capable, and dependable. Yet beneath that strength, you may be carrying anxiety, grief, trauma, relationship struggles, burnout, serious illness, or the weight of a major life transition. Perhaps you've spent years pushing forward, caring for others, or trying to hold everything together—and now you're feeling stuck, disconnected, or unsure of what comes next.

Therapy can be more than managing symptoms. It can be a place to slow down, feel genuinely heard, and make sense of your experience. My work is grounded in Existential-Humanistic therapy, inviting you to explore your values, relationships, choices, sense of self, and the deeper questions that emerge when life doesn't unfold as expected.

I believe you are more than what has happened to you. Together, we'll explore what matters to you, what may be keeping you stuck, and what you want your life to become. My approach is warm, genuine, and collaborative, drawing from additional approaches, including EMDR when appropriate.

Having lived with a genetic heart condition, I understand personally how serious illness can change your sense of safety, identity, and future. That experience deepens the empathy I bring to those navigating illness, caregiving, uncertainty, and profound life changes.

If you're ready to understand yourself more deeply, make meaning of what you've experienced, or find a way forward that feels authentic to you, therapy can be a place to begin. My goal is not simply to help you cope, but to help you reconnect with yourself and create a life that feels more meaningful, connected, and fully your own.

My work begins with the belief that emotional struggles often make more sense when we understand what you’ve been through, rather than viewing them as personal weakness. I draw from a range of therapeutic approaches based on your needs, including EMDR through a secure online platform. When appropriate, EMDR allows us to process difficult experiences, memories, and emotions from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

My approach is grounded in an Existential-Humanistic perspective. This means we look beyond symptoms to understand who you are, what you’ve experienced, the relationships that matter to you, and what gives your life meaning. Therapy is not simply about feeling better in the moment. It is about developing greater self-understanding, resilience, connection, and the ability to move forward with greater intention and clarity.

My years working in hospice and end-of-life care have deeply shaped how I understand suffering, resilience, loss, and what truly matters. These experiences continue to inform my work with people navigating grief, serious illness, caregiving, and major life transitions. I believe that even in life’s most difficult moments, there can be opportunities for healing, growth, meaning, and transformation.

Your first session is a chance to begin telling your story, share what brought you to therapy, and talk about what you hope will change. You don’t need to know exactly what to say or have everything figured out before we meet. My role is to create a comfortable, compassionate space where you feel heard, understood, and free to be yourself.

Together, we’ll explore what you’re experiencing, the experiences that have shaped you, and what you would like to be different. We’ll identify your goals and determine which therapeutic approaches may be most helpful for you. If EMDR is a good fit, I’ll explain how it works and what you can expect when using the secure EMDR online platform.

My hope is that you leave your first session feeling genuinely heard and understood, with greater clarity about what you’re experiencing and a sense of direction for where we can go together.