Alia Smith
Compassionate, practical therapy for life’s turning points
LMFT California
- Experience
- 15 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Addictions, Trauma and abuse, Self esteem
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English
About Alia
Alia Smith is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 15 years of clinical experience working in California. She emphasizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as part of a practical, skills-oriented approach that helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and build new coping strategies.
Background and approach
Her work often addresses mood challenges such as depression, bipolar symptoms, and anxiety, alongside stress management, attention-related concerns like ADHD, and the recovery process from addictions. She also brings a collaborative, client-centered stance that treats each person as the expert on their own life, helping to surface strengths and values that support change.
This perspective informs work on trauma and abuse, relationship difficulties, self-esteem and body image issues, and complex concerns including dissociation, personality-related challenges, and post-traumatic stress. Motivational Interviewing and elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are woven into sessions when useful to increase motivation, emotion regulation, and values-based action.
Alia supports practical steps toward healthier functioning and improved quality of life, recognizing that taking the first step requires courage. She offers flexible online formats to fit different schedules and commitments and tailors interventions to each person’s goals and circumstances.
Therapeutic approaches and online care that fit your life
Alia blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and a client-centered stance to create practical, values-oriented online care. CBT is used to help identify and shift unhelpful thought patterns and to build behavioral skills for anxiety, depression, stress, and attention-related struggles. ACT supports clarifying personal values and taking meaningful action even when uncomfortable thoughts or feelings arise, which can be especially helpful for motivation, life changes, and recovery work. Client-centered work emphasizes respect for each person’s experience and strengths, offering a collaborative space where goals are set together and the therapist follows the client's lead.Finding the right approach is treated as a collaborative process. The therapist works with clients to explore which methods feel most helpful, adapts techniques to individual goals, and checks in regularly to refine the plan so it matches changing needs and preferences.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which provide flexibility for those balancing work, family, or mobility constraints. These formats allow for ongoing skill practice, brief check-ins, and longer sessions as needed, making it easier to maintain continuity of care and access support when schedules are tight.
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Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Licensed
California
Languages
English