About Wayland
Wayland Smith meets people who are wary, overwhelmed, or stuck and helps them find steady footing again. He works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, bipolar symptoms, grief, and relationship concerns. Wayland uses simple, clear conversation to uncover strengths people already have.
He acknowledges how hard it can feel to begin therapy and frames that first step as a meaningful move forward. Wayland brings 38 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois.
Background and approach
He asks straightforward questions and listens for what matters most to each person. Together they set practical goals and try out small changes between sessions. The focus is on daily coping, improving communication, and reducing things that interfere with life.
He also supports issues around parenting, intimacy, anger, self-esteem, and life transitions. Additional attention is given to blended family dynamics, aging and geriatric concerns, and process addictions. Veterans and people facing isolation or questions of life purpose can explore those themes here.
Sessions use approaches grounded in evidence-based therapeutic techniques, adjusted to fit each person’s needs. Wayland explains options plainly and tries methods that feel doable. Progress is tracked in concrete ways so people can see what is changing.
Wayland conducts sessions in English from Illinois and is listed as LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He accepts international clients and offers several remote session formats to make ongoing care easier to arrange.
How evidence-based approaches work in online care
Wayland uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical skills and clearer thinking. One common approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and testing new ways of thinking and behaving to reduce anxiety and depression. This method helps people notice automatic thoughts and try small experiments to see what changes result.Another approach centers on building coping skills and improving daily routines to manage stress, mood swings, and addiction-related urges. It teaches concrete strategies like activity planning, relapse prevention steps, and ways to handle cravings or strong emotions. These methods are useful for people facing bipolar symptoms, process addictions, or seasonal mood shifts.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they choose techniques and adjust them over time so the work fits the person’s life and priorities.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to keep that process going. Video sessions support face-to-face conversation, phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text messaging can be used for brief check-ins or ongoing prompts between appointments. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to try different formats as needs change.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Experience
- 38 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English