photo of Wendy Smith, counselor/therapist in Seattle, WA

About Me

Education & Credentials

I am a “Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate,” which means that I have my Masters degree in psychology/mental health counseling and am working towards Washington State licensure under the supervision of a seasoned clinician. I received my MA in psychology from Antioch University Seattle in 2009, and I also have an MA in literature from Yale University which I earned 20 years earlier. I completed my clinical internship at Navos Mental Health Solutions (a community mental health center) in Burien, Washington in September, 2009. In total, I have over ten years of experience working in human services. I am a member of the American Counseling Association and the Seattle Counselors Association. I am also a provider with Washington State's Crime Victims Compensation Program.

Therapeutic Approach

I have discovered that I work somewhat differently with different people; this is probably because each client is different and has different problems, strengths, needs and goals, and because, in each case, a unique relationship develops between me and the client. In all cases, I place the utmost importance on deeply understanding the client's experience and on meeting that person with empathy and respect. I believe that people contain the seeds of their own authenticity and development, and that it is the therapist's job to help the client remove what blocks his or her natural growth. I use “existential” techniques (working in the here-and-now), as well as emotionally-focused and mindfulness-based techniques. I also pay a lot of attention to people's histories in order to understand how their past development and experiences might be affecting their current capacity to live well in the present and imagine a future.

Finally, I have recently started using Lifespan Integration© to help clients integrate bodily/emotional memories from infancy, childhood and adolescence with their adult capacities for understanding. I find Lifespan Integration to be especially helpful for healing trauma gently without re-traumatizing.

When working with couples, I use “Emotionally Focused Therapy” to help partners deeply reconnect on the level of needs and feelings (as opposed to having that same unproductive argument over and over again). I also use very practical research-derived techniques to help partners develop strategies for successful communication and for joint living and dreaming, while, at the same time, maintaining their identities as whole and separate human beings.

On a Personal Note

Since an important ingredient of our work together will be creating a comfortable working relationship, I'd like to tell you a little bit about me as a person. I'm in my forties, and am originally from New York. This last may account for the direct and genuine interpersonal style that caused a past supervisor of mine to remark, "You're so deeply caring with your clients, without being...well...nice." I like to smile and laugh, and I use and appreciate humor when working with clients. On the other hand, I have personally experienced anxiety and depression and know how difficult (and possible) it can be to live through, and transform, those experiences.

I have been visually impaired since I was a baby, but did not begin fully to appreciate the myriad meanings of that experience until my late 20s. Within the last decade, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, so I also know what it can be like to acquire, live with, and successfully manage, a chronic illness. I have been greatly empowered by both of these experiences.

Prior to retraining as a counselor, I worked as an English and literature instructor, as a writer, and in human services. I am committed to a variety of social justice and human rights causes, and volunteering in their service is an ongoing part of my life.

For People with Disabilities

If you grew up with a disability, you may have spent a lot of your life "cheerfully" trying to prove that you have "overcome" your disability and are just like everyone else (exactly what society expects of you), or you may have been convinced by others that you will "never amount to much". In either case, now may be the time to reclaim yourself--to work with a counselor to integrate your disability into your sense of yourself as a person you feel proud of.

If you have recently acquired a disability, you may be in shock, or determined to "overcome" your disability as soon as possible, or in despair at your losses and how radically your life has, or appears to have, changed. You may feel angry or guilty, or anxious about being a "burden" to your family and friends.

Coming to terms with a disability can bring up a lot of powerful emotions, not to mention confusion, overwhelm, or numbness. Indeed, the quest to make sense of your disability can prompt a reevaluation of your identity and priorities, and, sometimes, even of the meaning of your life. Finding a counselor who understands and is comfortable travelling this terrain with you can be of enormous help. Because of my personal (see above) and professional experience, I have a good idea what it can be like to come to terms with changes in one's body and functionality, as well as with one's own mortality. I am convinced that going through the hard work of adjusting emotionally can ultimately lead to a richer, more authentic, happier life.

Additionally, I am experienced in counseling clients with disabilities on coping effectively with societal (and internalized) oppression.

Below are some links to books and articles that I have found helpful:


Clinical & Semi-Clinical Works

Kaufman, M., Silverberg, C., & Odette F. (2003). The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain and Illness. San Francisco, CA: Cleis Press.

Comments: Practical answers to practical questions.

The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability


Olkin, Rhoda (1999). What Psychotherapists Should Know About Disability. New York: Guilford.

Comments: An excellent guide for therapists who need a thorough introduction to this subject.

What Psychotherapists Should Know About Disability


Remen, Rachel Naomi (1996). Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal. New York: Riverhead Books.

Comments: Personal and clinical anecdotes from a very wise psychotherapist who has Crohn's Disease and has worked with many people with disabilities and illnesses.

Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal


Scott, K. K. (May, 1998). The "Psychological Emergency" of New Onset Physical Disability and Deformity. Jacksonville Medicine.

Comments: A concise description of the psychological aspects of new onset disability.

The "Psychological Emergency" of New Onset Physical Disability and Deformity


Memoirs & Essays


Albom, Mitch (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson. New York: Doubleday.

Comments: About the author's conversations with his former sociology professor who is dying of ALS.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson


Hockenberry, John (1995). Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence. New York: Hyperion.

Comments: A memoir about the author's psychological journey from becoming paraplegic at age 19 through reporting for National Public Radio from various locations in the Middle East.

Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence


Klein, Bonnie Sherr (1997). Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love, and Disability. Berkeley, CA: PageMill Press.

Comments: Written by a Canadian filmmaker who also happens to be the mother of the famous journalist, Naomi Klein.

Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love, and Disability


Kumin, Maxine (2000). Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery. New York: Norton.

Comments: Kumin is a poet who had a traumatic accident as an older woman. This is about her rehabilitation after breaking her neck.

Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery


Mairs, Nancy (1996). Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled. Boston: Beacon Press.

Comments: Written by a professional writer who has Multiple Sclerosis.

Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled


Milam, Lorenzo Wilson (1993). CripZen: A Manual for Survival. San Diego, CA: MHO & MHO Works.

Comments: A quirky, irreverant look at surviving a new disability written by a writer/ journalist/ broadcaster with paraplegia or quadraplegia (not sure which). He has also written a memoir which I haven't read called The Cripple Liberation Front Marching Band Blues. He refers to this book as being about "the seven formative years of my life as a Crip".

CripZen: A Manual for Survival


Zola, Irving Kenneth (1982). Missing Pieces: A Chronicle of Living with a Disability. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Comments: Written by a sociologist with Post-Polio Syndrome. Includes personal reflections and sociological study.

Missing Pieces: A Chronicle of Living with a Disability