Lisette Smith

MACP, CCC Q

We all develop ways of coping, protecting ourselves, and navigating relationships based on what we have lived through. Sometimes those patterns continue long after we needed them, showing up in ways that can leave us feeling stuck or disconnected from ourselves and others.

My work begins with curiosity and compassion for those patterns, rather than judgment. I believe meaningful change happens when we understand not only what we are doing, but why it makes sense that we learned to do it in the first place.

Therapy can be a space to explore where those patterns came from, recognize how they may be affecting your life and relationships today, and begin creating new ways of responding that feel more aligned with who you want to be.

My approach is warm, relational, collaborative, and trauma informed. I value creating a space where you can feel safe enough to be honest while also being supported in moving toward meaningful change. For me, awareness is an important part of healing, but awareness paired with action is where we begin to interrupt patterns and create something different.

I work with adults navigating trauma and complex trauma, attachment and relationship wounds, anxiety, grief and loss, challenges with self worth and identity, emotional regulation, and the effects of abusive or harmful relationships. I am particularly interested in how our earliest relationships, intergenerational experiences, and significant life events can influence the ways we learn to relate to ourselves and others.

Because no two people arrive in therapy with the same story, I take an integrative approach. My work draws from EMDR, attachment focused therapy, parts informed approaches, somatic interventions, CBT, and DBT informed skills depending on each client’s needs, goals, and readiness.

I am also expanding my work into couples counselling and am currently completing Gottman Method Couples Therapy Levels 1 and 2 while continuing to pursue additional training in couples therapy. My approach to couples work focuses on looking beneath the surface of conflict to better understand the patterns, protective responses, and unmet needs influencing the relationship.

My clinical training has included counselling within a First Nations community in northeastern British Columbia. This experience strengthened my commitment to practicing with cultural humility and understanding each person within the broader context of their relationships, family, community, culture, and lived experiences.

I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Counselling. I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor, Qualifying with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association and have completed EMDR Basic Training.