Dr. Keley Smith-Keller, LPC

Dr. Keley Smith-Keller is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in South Dakota with more than 30 years of experience supporting individuals and groups. She combines extensive clinical training with career counseling expertise - she is a Certified Career Counselor through the National Career Development Association - and holds a master’s degree in counseling plus a doctorate in adult and higher education. This blend of credentials informs a practical, strengths-focused approach to life transitions and workplace concerns.

She has substantial experience working with adults in higher education settings, helping people adjust to college life, manage anxiety and relationships, and make career decisions that feel satisfying and sustainable. Her work spans common concerns such as stress, self-esteem, grief, trauma, and depression, and she also addresses areas like aging, eating and food-related issues, forgiveness, life purpose, and women’s workplace issues.

Dr. Smith-Keller primarily integrates narrative and solution-focused therapies. She believes people already possess many of the resources needed to move toward a preferred future and uses thoughtful questioning to identify practical steps and new perspectives. With a niche interest in writing for emotional wellbeing, she incorporates chat and written exercises to deepen self-understanding and track progress. She welcomes those ready to explore changes in career, relationships, or personal wellbeing and looks forward to supporting each person’s next steps.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Narrative therapy helps people examine the stories they tell about their lives and separate personal identity from problems. By reauthoring those narratives, individuals can explore meaning, clarify values, and address concerns such as relationship patterns, life purpose, and responses to loss or change.

Solution-focused therapy emphasizes practical goals and small, achievable steps toward a preferred future. It builds on strengths and past successes to create short-term plans that support career decisions, coping with life transitions, and managing anxiety or day-to-day stress.

Mindfulness therapy cultivates present-moment awareness and simple practices to reduce reactivity and support emotional regulation. It can be useful for managing stress, improving focus, and increasing resilience to difficult feelings.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Dr. Smith-Keller works with each person to identify the methods that best fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adapting techniques as progress is made.

Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for busy schedules and varied comfort levels with communication styles. These options make it easier to access consistent support, continue writing-based exercises between sessions, and integrate therapeutic work into everyday life.