Therapist Brett Smith Photo

Brett Smith, LMFT

Stress, Anxiety Family conflicts Trauma, Abuse Self esteem, Motivation Depression
Video Phone Live Chat Messaging

About me

Congratulations!!! You have just taken your first step towards an improved life! When we hurt our finger we are quick to go to the doctor for help, but when we suffer mental health concerns, we often, for many reasons, think we need to take this burden on ourselves. This is unfortunate as many mental health issues are successfully treated on a regular basis. So I congratulate you on your success at taking this first step.

You are on this site because there is something in your life keeping you from the adventure life should be. Let me help you resolve this issue. I have been in the counseling field for approx. 20 yrs. I came to this field in an attempt to resolve my own issues with PTSD. I'm a combat veteran and a former law enforcement officer. I have an intimate understanding of trauma, both on the clinical side, and the side of the victim. My interest has been to explore the consequences of trauma, and how it affects our behavior. One of the most surprising things I learned, was how long the symptoms of trauma persist, and how involved they can be in our lives. As a result of this experience, I have worked most of my career assisting clients with personality disorders and trauma symptoms.

My style is direct. I use primarily dialectical behavior therapy but will switch modalities if the situation needs flexibility. I have post-grad work in Hypnotherapy and am a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist utilizing Ericksonian/transformational concepts. My skills are enhanced by my experience in working in emergency departments conducting emergency psychiatric assessments for patients in crisis. This has improved my diagnostic skills and has helped me unravel many difficult cases.

In my personal life, my wife and I like to sail our own sailboat. In our future, we plan to live-aboard and travel the world. In addition to boating, we like to travel and spend time outdoors backpacking and kayaking. we stay active and outdoors as much as possible. My wife is retired from a life in law enforcement, and we both enjoy raising and training dogs. I also have a Youtube channel that has videos about what we talk about. I encourage you all to view them at your leisure, This is the link to my Youtube page:

https://www.youtube.com/@bashleys

It has been a pleasure sharing a little bit about me, and I hope you contact me so, together, we can make life less of an ordeal and more the grand adventure it is supposed to be. I look forward to meeting you!

Specialties
Personality Disorders
Trauma Treatment
Relationships
Anxiety/Depression

Professional experience

22yrs in practice
Stress, Anxiety Family conflicts Trauma, Abuse Self esteem, Motivation Depression

Additional areas of focus: Addictions, LGBT, Relationship issues, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Sleeping disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Abandonment, BDSM, Kink, Alternative Sex Culture, Body image, Codependency, Commitment Issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Dependent Personality, Dissociation, Family of Origin Issues, First Responder Issues, Infidelity, Jealousy, Military and Veterans Issues, Mood disorders , Personality Disorders, Post-traumatic stress, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Self-Harm, Self-love, Sex Addiction, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Sexuality

Clinical approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Hypnotherapy, Jungian Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy

Services offered

Video
Phone
Live Chat
Messaging

License information

CA LMFT 46410

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Brett Smith. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.

Direct and smart as I was hoping

Written on Jun 30, 2024 after therapy with Brett for 1 month on issues concerning relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, and intimacy-related issues

I would readily recommend Brett.

Written on May 30, 2024 after therapy with Brett for 1 year and 3 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, and compassion fatigue

The moment I started communicating with Brett, he made me feel comfortable. During our first live video session he was so insightful and I learned a lot even though I’m not the best at being able to express myself. I look forward to working more with Brett in coming days, weeks…months! I highly recommend him.

Written on Jan 26, 2024 after therapy with Brett for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting issues, self esteem, and coping with life changes

Brett is awesome very smart and up lifting. Great personality and response quick !

Written on Aug 22, 2023 after therapy with Brett for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, grief, career difficulties, coaching, and adhd

My experience with therapy has been life-changing in only a positive way. I feel like I am healing to become a version of myself that I hadn't dared dream it was possible to be.
Brett is a fantastic therapist and he listens and interacts in a combination of both a literature/training-supported and bespoke way.

Written on Aug 12, 2023 after therapy with Brett for 1 year and 8 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, and trauma and abuse

I had 1st session with Brett. The discussion was straight forward and we went through my challenges and what I want to achieve. I like this approach, direct precise questions.

Brett is knowledgeable about his area, he explained few points logically and scientifically.

In the 1st session, we made action for me to take! I am looking forward to next session.

Written on Jul 01, 2023 after therapy with Brett for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, addictions, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, and career difficulties