Dr. Rita Smith , MD, LCPC, LPC

Dr. Rita Smith brings 25 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and families navigate stress, anxiety, relationship challenges, trauma, and life transitions. Her work spans agencies, university settings, private practice, and military installations, where she has applied clinical techniques to promote growth, healing, and greater life satisfaction.

She holds an MD and is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor - credentials that reflect medical training and state counseling licenses. She is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, with specialized training in supporting people through vocational and functional recovery.

Dr. Smith draws from client-centered methods that prioritize the person sitting across from her, cognitive behavioral techniques that help identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, and solution-focused strategies that target practical, short-term progress. These approaches are tailored to concerns such as self-esteem, grief, parenting and family problems, intimacy and commitment issues, workplace difficulties, and post-traumatic adjustment.

Committed to meeting people where they are, Dr. Smith emphasizes collaborative goal-setting and practical steps forward. Her aim is to support clients in building a more meaningful, enjoyable life by strengthening coping skills, improving communication, and clarifying purpose.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Dr. Rita Smith uses client-centered therapy to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space where the individual's perspective guides the process. This approach supports people working through identity concerns, relationship struggles, and questions about life purpose by emphasizing empathy and collaboration.

She also employs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT - which focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to stress, anxiety, depression, and other concerns. CBT provides practical tools to reframe thoughts and build new coping skills that lead to measurable change.

Solution-focused techniques are used to set clear, attainable short-term goals and to amplify strengths that move clients toward desired outcomes. This forward-looking approach is useful for relationship problems, parenting challenges, career decisions, and transitions.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process, and Dr. Smith works collaboratively with each person to determine what fits best based on their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts methods over time as progress and priorities evolve.

Online therapy with Dr. Smith is offered using video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and accessibility. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care around work, family, and other commitments while still receiving support from licensed professionals and therapists.