Education & Training
Dr. Smith’s interest and background in the Social Sciences span several decades and across various disciplines and related fields. While her academic degrees and training are in clinical psychology, she spent her early college years formally studying cross-cultural anthropology, philosophy, comparative world religions, and art. She believes this background has been pivotal in developing a deeper understanding of persons seeking her help and the problems they present. It has equipped her with different lenses to guide her patients, examine their situations and difficulties, and offer them alternative treatment modalities to explore adaptive solutions to their challenges.
Her theoretical orientation and clinical approach are rooted in contemporary relational psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, attachment theory, and neuroscience. Dr. Smith is well-versed in cognitive psychology and strongly influenced by existential and Eastern philosophies, dance therapy, and mindfulness meditation.
Throughout her career, Dr. Smith has treated individuals of diverse ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic statuses. She has expertise in child, adolescent, and adult psychology and is a clinical supervisor and mental health consultant.
She has trained and worked in various mental health settings, including special-education classrooms, art rehabilitation programs, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and outpatient community mental health facilities.
Dr. Smith obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Ph.D.) 2001 from the California School of Professional Psychology at the Alameda/Berkeley campus. She also completed a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology and her bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology at San Francisco State University, graduating summa cum laude. She has been working in her field in various capacities since 1989.
Dr. Smith is licensed in the State of Florida and is a member of the Florida Psychological Association, The Southeast Florida Association for