About Brett
Brett Smith is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 22 years in the field. He helps people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, and a wide range of other concerns.
Background and approach
He draws on years of hands-on experience to guide practical change in daily life. Brett came to this work after addressing his own post-traumatic stress and serving in the military and law enforcement.
That background shaped how he understands trauma and its long-term effects on thinking and behavior. He has spent much of his career helping people with trauma symptoms and personality concerns.
His style is direct and goal-focused. He often uses dialectical behavior therapy to teach coping skills and emotional regulation, and he adapts methods when a situation calls for a different approach.
He also uses cognitive behavioral approaches and mindfulness to change unhelpful thinking and manage symptoms day to day. Brett has additional training in hypnotherapy and applies Ericksonian and transformational ideas when appropriate.
He also has experience performing emergency psychiatric assessments, which has strengthened his ability to sort complex presentations and safety needs quickly and clearly. Outside of work he enjoys sailing, backpacking, kayaking, and training dogs with his wife.
He shares educational videos online that expand on the topics he covers in sessions.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Brett commonly uses dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to teach concrete skills for managing intense emotions, building distress tolerance, and improving interpersonal effectiveness. DBT can help people who struggle with mood swings, overwhelming reactions, and relationship conflicts.He also uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT focuses on practical exercises and skills that can reduce anxiety, depression, and problematic patterns in daily life.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Brett will collaborate with each person to decide which methods suit their goals and preferences. He adapts techniques over time and checks in to make sure the plan feels useful and relevant.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video can support face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone calls work when bandwidth is limited, live chat and messaging are useful for brief check-ins or when typing feels easier. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, travel, or other commitments while keeping the focus on practical tools and steady progress.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Eating disorders
- Family of origin issues
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English