About Rena
Rena Smith is a licensed clinical social worker who draws on 23 years of experience to help people manage stress, anxiety, addictions, and trauma. She works in Louisiana and focuses on practical steps people can use right away. Rena encourages clients to use their own strengths as a guide during change.
She believes the person in the room knows their own life best. Sessions focus on clear goals and useful tools rather than labels.
Background and approach
Rena listens closely and partners with each client to sort out what matters most and what to try next. Her work covers a wide range of concerns, including grief, relationship struggles, parenting stress, anger, and career transitions. She also helps people facing eating issues, bipolar challenges, compassion fatigue, and life changes such as divorce or separation.
Additional focus areas include codependency, family of origin issues, addiction recovery, and multicultural concerns. Rena uses several practical approaches to shape sessions. She draws on acceptance and commitment ideas to clarify values, cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, motivational interviewing to support readiness for change, and solution-focused methods to build on immediate strengths.
The approach is tailored to each person’s goals. Getting started involves a short matching process and scheduling a session format that fits the person’s life. Rena aims to make therapy straightforward and doable, with real steps to try between meetings.
Practical Approaches for Online Work
Rena often combines Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people move toward what matters and change unhelpful thinking patterns. ACT helps clarify values and encourages small actions that match those values. CBT targets thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going, offering tools to shift them and reduce distress.She also uses Motivational Interviewing when people feel unsure about change. That approach focuses on listening, building motivation, and supporting the client’s own reasons for making changes. Deciding which approach to use is a shared process; the therapist and client discuss goals and try methods that fit the person’s preferences and situation.
Online work is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to give flexibility. Video allows face-to-face interaction for deep conversations. Phone sessions need less bandwidth and can be easier to fit into a break during the day. Live chat or text messaging supports brief check-ins, homework planning, and ongoing encouragement between longer sessions. These options make it easier to keep consistency and try techniques in day-to-day life.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does Rena work with?
What is her general therapy style?
How long has she been practicing?
What are her credentials and where is she located?
Which languages are supported?
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How is cost handled?
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- Anger management
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- Louisiana
- Languages
- English