About Jennifer
Jennifer Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years of practice. She meets people where they are and focuses on calming anxiety, managing mood swings, and coping with big life changes. Her style is straightforward and empathetic, aimed at helping a worried parent feel heard and understood.
She began with a BA in Psychology from Ithaca College and then worked in a psychiatric hospital doing testing, co-leading groups, and assisting with intake.
Background and approach
Jennifer completed a Master of Social Work at Adelphi University and later joined the New York City Early Intervention Program. Those early roles gave her experience with a wide range of concerns and developmental needs. Over the years she moved into community mental health in New York and New Jersey, working with many different presenting problems.
She now serves as Clinical Director at a small therapeutic school for grades 6-12 in central New Jersey, where administrative and clinical responsibilities inform her practical approach to care. Jennifer uses several approaches rather than a single method. She draws on cognitive behavioral strategies, acceptance-based ideas, attachment perspectives, client-centered skills, and dialectical techniques as needed.
Sessions focus on clear goals, skill-building, and improving day-to-day coping. Her work can address stress, anxiety, grief, depression, parenting strain, trauma and abuse, mood disorders, and concerns tied to identity and relationships. She aims to help people build confidence in their strengths and find steps forward that fit their lives.
How Jennifer blends proven approaches for online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice their thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, avoidance, and trouble coping with change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills for reducing anxiety and improving mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, adds skills for tolerating strong emotions, improving relationships, and managing impulsive behavior.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Jennifer will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. She mixes techniques from different approaches when that helps reach a clear goal, and she will help clients decide what to try first in a collaborative way.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video calls let people use visual cues and practice skills in real time. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a camera isn’t wanted. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins, homework support, or when shorter, more frequent contact is helpful. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to continue work between sessions.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey
- Languages
- English
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