About David
David Smith is a licensed mental health counselor with 25 years of experience who helps people manage stress, anxiety, relationship strain, anger, depression, and major life changes. He writes plainly and works in a practical, down-to-earth way so clients can try new behaviors and notice what changes. He frames therapy as a collaborative effort and asks for regular feedback as work progresses.
In sessions he uses a mix of approaches to fit each person.
Background and approach
He leans on cognitive behavioral ideas to track thoughts and habits, acceptance and commitment strategies to clarify values and action, and relationship work when two people need clearer communication. He also draws on client-centered and existential perspectives to stay focused on personal meaning and strengths. David aims to help clients identify specific obstacles and take small, manageable steps toward change.
He emphasizes concrete skills as well as reflection about what matters most. He describes his style as accessible, empathetic, pragmatic, and action-oriented. Over his career he has supported people facing family-of-origin difficulties, codependency, commitment and communication problems, divorce and separation, addiction concerns, fatherhood stresses, aging and geriatric issues, first responder challenges, and feelings of emptiness, guilt, or shame.
He also offers work on forgiveness and control issues. Sessions focus on practical progress and clear goals. David encourages people to treat therapy as a shared project where both client and therapist check in about how things are going and adjust the work as needed.
How therapeutic approaches work online
David commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people get clear about what matters to them and take small steps toward those values, even when anxiety or difficult feelings are present. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used to identify unhelpful thought patterns and try practical experiments to shift behavior and mood. He also brings in client-centered listening to make sure the person's own goals and experiences guide the work.Finding the right approach is part of the process. He collaborates with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, preferences, and day-to-day life. That means trying strategies together and adjusting the plan based on what is helpful.
Online therapy offers flexibility for people with busy schedules or mobility limits. Video calls let the work feel much like an in-person session, phone sessions can be a simpler check-in or a lower-bandwidth option, and live chat or text-based messaging make it possible to get brief support between sessions or when typing feels easier. These options help clients fit therapy into work, family, or other commitments while using methods like ACT and CBT in practical ways.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Anger management
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Iowa
- Languages
- English
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