About Lesley
Lesley Smith, LCMHC, centers her work on approaches that help people manage anxiety and stress. She brings 25 years of experience and focuses on practical steps people can use in day-to-day life. Her voice is steady and encouraging, and she explains options clearly so people know what to expect.
Lesley uses client-centered methods that start with listening and understanding each person's story. From there she draws on cognitive behavioral tools to identify unhelpful thoughts and ACT ideas to clarify values and take small steps toward them.
Background and approach
Emotionally-focused and attachment-based ideas are used when relationship patterns and connection are part of the struggle. Sessions often focus on skills that reduce immediate stress and on building long-term routines that support mood and energy. Work might include rehearsing difficult conversations, noticing thought patterns, or setting small goals that lead to bigger change.
Lesley emphasizes practical practice between sessions so progress carries into daily life. She has supported people dealing with depression, relationship problems, grief, trauma and abuse, career stress, caregiver burnout, and issues around body image and self-esteem. Lesley also helps when life shifts suddenly, such as separation, divorce, or big career moves.
Lesley is licensed as an LCMHC in North Carolina. Sessions are offered in English and can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. To begin, a short matching questionnaire and scheduling step connect people to her practice.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online sessions
Lesley often blends cognitive behavioral therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people manage symptoms and move toward what matters. CBT focuses on identifying and changing thought and behavior patterns that increase anxiety or depression, which can help with practical problems like sleep, worry, or low motivation. ACT encourages noticing thoughts without getting stuck in them and taking small, values-driven actions that build a more meaningful routine.Attachment-based and emotionally-focused ideas also inform work when relationship patterns matter. These approaches look at how past and current connections shape reactions and help people practice new ways of relating and communicating. Lesley treats finding the right mix of methods as a team effort and discusses options with each person to match tools to their goals and preferences.
Online therapy offers flexibility for busy schedules and varied needs. Video calls allow for face-to-face conversation and visual cues; phone sessions can be used when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins; live chat and text messaging let people share updates between sessions or check in during a challenging day. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or travel constraints while keeping the focus on building practical coping skills and steady progress.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- North Carolina
- Languages
- English
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