Rena Smith, LCSW

Rena Smith is a licensed clinical social worker with 23 years of experience helping people manage stress and anxiety. She frames therapy around each person's strengths and practical steps. Rena focuses on everyday worries and the habits that keep them going. She aims to make the first step feel less overwhelming and more doable.

Rena uses straightforward conversation to pinpoint what matters most. She listens for patterns around relationships, substance use, grief, trauma, and work stress. Sessions often include skill-building, short experiments, and goal-focused planning so people can test what helps between meetings.

Her work commonly addresses coping with life changes, parenting strain, compassion fatigue, and challenges like obsessive thoughts or eating concerns. She also supports people dealing with shame, guilt, codependency, and the impact of family of origin issues. Rena brings 23 years of practice to these areas while keeping the focus on what the client wants to change.

Rena draws on several practical approaches to guide sessions. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ideas to clarify values and take action. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools help change unhelpful thinking and behavior. Client-centered conversation and motivational interviewing are used to build momentum and confidence.

Rena practices in Louisiana and works in English. She encourages people to take the next step when they feel ready and offers a steady, goal-oriented approach to reduce stress and improve day-to-day functioning.

How Rena uses evidence-based approaches online

Rena often draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to guide her work. ACT helps people clarify what matters to them and take actions that line up with those values, which can reduce stress that comes from avoidance. CBT focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking and changing behaviors through small, practical steps that can reduce anxiety and compulsive patterns.

She also uses client-centered techniques to create a respectful, listening-focused space and motivational interviewing to help people find their own reasons to change. Choosing the right approach is part of the work together; Rena will collaborate with each person to find methods that match their goals, preferences, and the problems they want to address.

If you are interested in online sessions, confirm the current session formats before booking so you know what is offered. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when helpful, and reduce travel time. Rena aims to tailor online sessions to practical needs while focusing on skills, values-based action, and measurable steps toward reducing stress and anxiety.