Cherrise Smith, LMHC

Cherrise Smith is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) practicing in Washington and is currently accepting new clients. As an LMHC she has specialized graduate-level training in counseling and brings a relational, direct, and collaborative style to her work, drawing on multiple evidence-based therapeutic techniques to meet each client's needs.

She works with children and teens on social skills, emotion regulation, anxiety and depression, and practical coping strategies. Her ability to build rapport creates a calm, supportive atmosphere where young people can identify challenges, strengthen resilience, and practice new skills for navigating the demands of youth.

With adults she focuses on understanding how past experiences have shaped current patterns, helping clients process difficult memories, move through life transitions, and develop a more authentic, empowered sense of self. Her primary clinical focuses include trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, self-esteem, and stress, and she also addresses related concerns such as attachment and abandonment issues, caregiver stress, relationship and communication difficulties, and mood disorders.

Cherrise approaches each therapeutic relationship with compassion and respect, viewing it as a partnership. She considers it an honor to hear people’s stories and support them as they work toward healing and meaningful change.

Practical, relational approaches for online therapy

Cherrise combines a relational approach with targeted skills-based interventions to meet clients where they are. The relational approach focuses on building a trusting therapeutic relationship - understanding how past and present connections shape feelings and behavior - and is helpful for issues like attachment concerns, relationship difficulties, and processing past hurts.

She also uses skills-based techniques that teach concrete tools for emotion regulation, anxiety management, and coping with everyday stressors. These methods provide practical strategies clients can use between sessions to reduce symptoms and improve functioning.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work and is done collaboratively. Cherrise will partner with each person to tailor techniques based on their goals, needs, and preferences, adjusting direction as progress is made.

Online therapy offers flexible options including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, maintain continuity during life transitions, and access licensed professionals from home or elsewhere, while still receiving focused, evidence-based care.