Shannon Smith (she/they)

MA, LPC-S, LPC/MHSP
Accepting Clients

I offer warm, authentic, trauma-informed therapy for adults seeking deeper healing, self-understanding, and meaningful change.

Licensed Professional Counselor in Chattanooga, TN

About My Clients

I work especially well with thoughtful, self-aware adults who want to go beyond simply talking about what happened and begin working with the deeper emotional, relational, and nervous-system patterns underneath it. Many of my clients have experienced trauma, loss, difficult relationships, shame, or periods of feeling misunderstood or disconnected from themselves. I welcome individuals who are neurodivergent, queer, and from diverse cultures.

My Background and Approach

I earned my Master's degree in Community Mental Health Counseling from Louisiana State University, and I have continued education in several therapeutic approaches, including Brainspotting, EMDR, Parts Work/Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Polyvagal Theory, Forest Therapy, and mindfulness approaches. My approach to counseling is integrative, client-centered, trauma-informed, and relational, aiming to support your personal growth and development. I emphasize non-stigmatizing, non-pathologizing, and compassionate modalities, and I strive to embrace a decolonial approach as much as possible. I opened my private practice in the fall of 2020, with a goal to create a warm, accepting, and affirming space, especially for those who often feel "othered." Prior to my career in counseling, I worked as a professional victim advocate across five states, and I have since been sworn in as an expert on sexual trauma and victimization in federal court.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

Therapy was a second career to me, and I went to grad school after 40. I have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and self-injury, and I understand how difficult it is to find a therapist that understands those issues from a personal perspective. I consider myself a liberal person, both socially and politically. I am Southern by birth, but have lived in the Midwest, the Northeast, and New England, and I think that my travels have exposed me to more cultures and beliefs than I would have otherwise experienced. I believe that Black Lives Matter, I'm vehemently pro-choice, and I'm a proud feminist. As a queer-identifying cis, white woman married to a man, I recognize my privilege and feel an obligation to use that privilege to challenge individuals and systems that perpetuate discrimination and inequity. I am childless by choice, but I share my life with multiple pets, and I am active in the animal rescue community.

I offer online counseling in the following states:
I have experience with the following
  • Agnosticism
  • Atheism
  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Jehovah's Witnesses
  • Judaism
  • The Satanic Temple
  • Sikhism
  • Taoism
  • Wicca/Paganism
  • Interfaith
  • Multifaith

At A Glance

  • Experience: 11 years of practice
  • Languages: English
  • Rate: $125 - 150/session

Info

Email Shannon
2628 Broad St.
Suite A
Chattanooga, TN 37409

Reach out to Shannon