Licensed clinical social worker recordVirginia
Valerie Smith, LCSW
Virginia
Licensed clinical social worker - relationships and stress
Continue with ValerieCredentials check
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in Virginia
- LCSW, licence 0904005575
- NPI
- 1215095450
- Experience
- 30 years
- Languages
- English
- Location
- Virginia
These details come from information Valerie supplied to BetterHelp. A licence can be checked with the social work board of the state that issued it, and an NPI with the national registry.
AAbout
- Stress and anxiety
- Relationship concerns
- Trauma-focused work
About Valerie
Valerie Smith is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) licensed in Virginia with 30 years of practice. She sees people coping with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, addictions, ADHD, self-esteem struggles, career issues, and life changes.
Her style is conversational rather than interrogational. Sessions focus on practical ideas and steps to reduce distress and restore routine. She listens for how a person’s past and family beliefs shape current problems and talks through ways to shift unhelpful patterns.
Valerie has worked in public settings, general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and private practice. She has experience addressing childhood trauma, PTSD-related concerns, substance use, and critical incident debriefing. Her background includes a wide range of work environments, which she uses to relate to workplace and role stresses people bring.
In sessions she offers suggestions for concrete changes, helps identify links between early beliefs and current behavior, and supports problem solving for day-to-day challenges. That can look like setting small goals, trying new communication strategies, or practicing techniques that reduce anxiety and improve sleep.
She also assists with issues that touch later life stages, such as aging and geriatric concerns, hospice and end-of-life counseling, caregiver strain, and midlife transitions. People often come for help with parenting, family of origin issues, or to manage chronic illness and pain.
Valerie works in English and relies on approaches like client-centered work, cognitive behavioral strategies, psychodynamic ideas, solution-focused steps, and trauma-focused techniques to match each person’s needs.
BHow sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-centered work focuses on listening and reflecting to help people clarify goals and feel understood. It is useful for relationship concerns, self-esteem work, and making sense of life changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, behaviors, and feelings connect. It offers practical tools for anxiety, sleep problems, depression, and coping with stress through small experiments and skills practice.
Trauma-focused techniques aim to reduce the hold of past traumatic events by building safety, teaching grounding and regulation skills, and then processing trauma at a pace the person can manage. This approach supports trauma, PTSD-related symptoms, and recovery after critical incidents.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals, preferences, and the problems they bring. That may mean combining listening-based, cognitive, and trauma-informed steps over time.
Confirm current session formats before booking since the biography does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example a shorter check-in during a lunch break, no commute time, or an option that avoids camera use when someone prefers audio only. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises, homework, and skills practice to remote sessions so people can apply what they learn between meetings.
CAreas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Listed in
Virginia
Languages
English
DQuestions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, ADHD, self-esteem, career challenges, and related concerns.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is conversational and practical. She uses problem-solving, discussion of underlying beliefs, and skill practice to address concerns.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 30 years of experience across public settings, general and psychiatric hospitals, and private practice.
Is she a licensed clinician in my state?
She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Virginia.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as the biography does not specify which formats are offered.
How are sessions paid for?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, call 911, or call or text 988. More crisis numbers