Cayla Smith, tLMFT

Cayla is a temp Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has served over 10 years in the health care industry prior to pursuing a career in mental health.

She works with individuals, couples and families. She practices from a systemic and holistic perspective, honoring how personal experiences, relationships, and cultural environments shape us.

Cayla’s trainings include several modalities such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Gottman, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and play therapy.

Issues I Can Help You With

My Style of Therapy

I practice from a systemic and holistic perspective, honoring the complex ways our personal experiences, relationships, and cultural environments shape who we are. Whether I am working with individuals, couples or families, my approach is client-centered grounded in compassion, curiosity and collaboration.

In my work with individuals, I integrate the principles from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and narrative therapy to match the needs and preferences of each client and support them in developing greater psychological flexibility, support them in re-authoring the stories that shape their identities and relationships, and help them move toward their preferred futures through values-driven actions built on existing strengths and resources.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) views emotional problems not as the result of emotions themselves, but as stemming from how people relate to and attempt to control or avoid their internal experiences (i.e. thoughts, feelings, memories, bodily sensations). ACT asserts that people get better not by getting rid of pain, but by learning to live meaningfully with it. They stop being controlled by fear, anxiety or self-doubt and instead move toward what truly matters to them through value-driven actions.

Family Therapy

I see families as deeply connected systems where each person’s emotions and behaviors affect the whole. My approach integrates family systems and experiential therapies, grounded in attachment theory.

Together, we explore patterns, roles, and boundaries while creating space for honest emotional expression. Using creative activities, I help families access feelings that words alone may not capture.

At the heart of my work is building secure emotional bonds—healing attachment wounds and strengthening connection, empathy, and communication.

Cayla Smith, tLMFT