Dr. Bette Smyth , LPC

Dr. Bette Smyth is a licensed professional counselor with 35 years of experience who helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and burnout. She focuses on practical skills that make daily life more manageable. Dr. Smyth also works with concerns tied to relationships, self-esteem, compassion fatigue, and women’s issues. Her style is straightforward and person-centered. She listens closely and helps people name what feels hard. Sessions focus on usable tools such as thought work, mindfulness, and values-based action to reduce distress and increase resilience. Dr. Smyth has a long background in crisis intervention. She has worked in emergency rooms, government crisis agencies, correctional settings, and hotline call centers. That experience shaped how she stays calm in high-stress moments and helps people find steady steps forward. She draws on several evidence-based approaches including cognitive behavioral ideas, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and solution-focused methods. These are used to help with intrusive thoughts, overwhelming emotions, relationship strain, and life transitions. People meet her for both short-term goals and longer work on patterns like attachment wounds, abandonment fears, body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and mood concerns. She aims to make therapy feel doable, with clear steps and real-life practice. Dr. Smyth communicates in plain language and tailors techniques to each person. Her goal is to help clients increase coping options so they can face daily demands with more confidence and calm.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice inner experiences and choose actions that match their values. It is often useful for anxiety, avoidance, and finding direction after life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts affect feelings and behavior and teaches practical skill work to reduce distress and change unhelpful patterns. Solution-Focused Therapy centers on small, goal-oriented steps and what is already working to create momentum during difficult times.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. Dr. Smyth collaborates with each person to test what feels useful and adjust methods based on goals and preferences. This gives room to try short-term problem-solving or deeper work on attachment, abandonment, or grief as needed.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video lets people use visual cues for deeper conversations, phone can be simpler when bandwidth is limited, live chat and text work well for brief check-ins or writing through thoughts. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives, manage caregiver responsibilities, or keep consistent contact during transitions.