Shelly M. Smith, LMFT

How did you pick your career? Did you know all along?

Finding my career took a while. Back when I was a teenager, I considered becoming a counselor, but by the time I was in college those dreams were long gone. In college, I decided to go into Secondary Education, as an English teacher. It was a field I was interested in at the time and excelled in. Once I got into a teaching position, I learned what the job is really like. (I think that's true for most fields by the way - once we are in it, we find out what it's really like.) I enjoyed working with the students and the lesson planning, however I didn't like the politics, and excessive testing. This led me into a job working as a full-time Youth Director, knowing that I liked students and helping them. As a Youth Director, I had various responsibilities, and quickly realized that what I liked best was interacting with teenagers and their families. I had a great mentor who helped me understand my talents and abilities and interests. Once I figured that out, I realized that it made sense to go to graduate school for my Masters' Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, so I could really help the people I interact with. It took me a while to get here, but I often use my experiences as a teacher and a youth director in my current job. All that I learned from the prior careers, helped build me into a much better, more knowledgeable, therapist. We can always use our life experiences to enhance what we do now. I find that for many people I work with, as well as friends and family, it takes a while to figure out what you really want to do for a career. Then even after you have it figured out, it will continue to change and grow throughout the years.

In layperson terms, what do you actually do at work?

As a LMFT, I spend most of my time sitting in a room with one or multiple people and talking to them. During that hour, I focus solely on the person (people) in front of me. I help them identify goals they want to achieve in therapy, then help design a plan for them to achieve that goal. We spend the hour talking about these things. Through these talks, I learn about people's lives, hopes, dreams, fears, secrets, and relationships. In learning these things about them and by asking specific questions, I help them heal from past hurt and fix current problems. I also teach them strategies, coping skills, and helpful information for them to take with and use at home on their own. The rest of my time at work is taken up with writing notes about these client sessions, billing insurance and other computer work, marketing and advertising myself to get more clients, and taking classes/reading books/learning about how to become even better as a therapist.