Meet Shana Smith of 1st Degree of Change Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Smith.

Hi Shana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was younger, I witnessed a lot of generational trauma, which naturally led me to become a good friend and observer as I grew up. Upon entering college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. After taking a career test, I was told I’d do well as a therapist or an advertising executive. When I saw those results, I realized what I wanted to do—manipulate people to buy things! Just joking! In reality, I wanted to be a therapist and further develop the skills I had laid the foundation for while growing up.

After completing my undergraduate and graduate studies, I knew I wanted to work with people who had experienced trauma. I began my career working with children and later transitioned to working with adults. During this growth period, I recognized that I also enjoyed working with people who had developed anxiety because it can be closely linked to “small t traumas” that may have jump-started their anxiety.

I continued working in an agency setting for six years. When I left, I felt ready to conquer the world, knowing that I wanted to focus on anxiety and trauma in my practice. I started my virtual practice at the end of 2018. Before being virtual became calm, I joked. When the pandemic hit, I was prepared and had the tools and skills to navigate the virtual world. While working through the pandemic, I found that I attracted people who were neurodivergent, specifically those with ADHD traits. I reflected on this and recognized that I had always enjoyed working with this population but had not focused on it explicitly. I pursued additional training, read books, and started networking with other neurodivergent therapists. I realized that naturally, I had developed my practice to suit my neurodivergent self, which just happens to coincide with how people dealing with trauma and anxiety may think.

I love having what I call my ADHD sub-specialty because it allows me to ensure that people have a safe place to explore with their masks. Countless times, I have been told by neurodivergent and neurotypical people that they felt secure in our sessions. My greatest joy is seeing clients finish therapy with me and feeling confident to go out in life and live.

Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Is there such a thing as a smooth road for people? Of course, I hit many bumps along the way! I struggled with my own ADHD diagnosis as an adult and the stigma that I had as a child for people who were labeled ADHD. I remember in undergrad being told that only 10% of people who have ADHD were female, a complete falsehood we realize now, but completely isolating to women who have ADHD. I also had a stigma against meds, so I went years and years knowing I had ADHD, but using every skill in the book to survive, it was exhausting! I’ve also had similar struggles with basically the world – student loans, deaths of loved ones, expanding family roles, COVID-19, and more that I’m sure I’m not thinking of. While I don’t enjoy the struggles, I do appreciate them, more so after I’m out of them while in them, because they allow me to change and grow. I’ve learned that while change is painful and scary, I can get through almost anything with the right skills and support.

Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your business.
I own a private practice virtual mental health therapy office. I am licensed to work with people in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and Massachusetts. I specialize in working with people who are struggling with anxiety and trauma. I have a sub-specialty of working with people who are diagnosed or identify with some of the symptoms of ADHD.

What sets me apart from others is that I work on people setting their goals and working with them on achieving them. Several times, I’ve had clients who had seen a therapist for years, or even decades and had bought into the idea that they would always need a therapist and never feel better. However, when we ended our sessions, they would say how amazed they were because they never thought they could feel this good and feel like they no longer needed therapy. I love it! Another thing that sets me apart from other therapists who are still office-bound is the freedom clients have with virtual appointments. Anxious people who have experienced trauma and have ADHD typically find going to the office to be a huge barrier. However, with virtual therapy sessions, you can do it from anywhere (as long as you’re physically in a state I’m licensed in). So we will talk about that hard thing that happened in your life. Grab your dog, cat, comfy blanket, emotional support water bottle, or whatever you need to make you feel comfortable.

To support my clients, I use a variety of skills, with my primary modality being Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and supporting therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I am submitting my application to be credentialled with EMDRIA currently and love how this modality works for people struggling with anxiety and trauma. It also works great with my ADHD folks because it is like telling them to let their mind do what they naturally want to do!

If people can get one thing from this interview, it would be that I love my job and working to get people out of therapy. I often tell people that if I can work out of a job because there is no more need for me, I would love it! Unfortunately, the world is still doing its thing, so I’m still working.

How do you think about luck?
Oh, this is a fun question! I wouldn’t say I like to focus on bad luck, so I’ll skip that part. However, some fantastic luck was being told by a former colleague that they thought virtual therapy would be the way to go back in 2015. This got me to set up everything so that when the pandemic hit, I wasn’t worried at all because life didn’t change for my practice. This allowed my clients not to have services interrupted and continue processing through one of the most traumatic times affecting the world.

Pricing:

• Cash Pay – $225/50 minute session
• Some insurances are accepted for Arizona clients, but I can provide a superbill for those who need it.
• 2-day intensive EMDR session – $4,000 (new offering)

Contact Info:

• Website: 1stdegreeofchange.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shana-smith-lcsw-79a19955/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@1stdegreeofchange476

Image Credits
1. Photo by Samson Katt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/relaxed-black-woman-watching-laptop-near-dog-on-bed-5255645/ 2. Photo by MART PRODUCTION: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-woman-relaxation-7606075/ 3. Photo by Oleksandr P: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rear-view-of-woman-with-arms-raised-at-beach-during-sunset-320007/ 4. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-raising-her-hands-up-while-sitting-on-floor-with-macbook-pro-on-lap-3813341/ 5. Photo by Matilda Wormwood: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-blue-denim-jacket-using-a-laptop-4099325/ 6. Photo by SHVETS production: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-unrecognizable-female-psychologist-and-patient-discussing-mental-problems-during-session-7176319/ 7. Photo by Alex Green: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stressed-black-man-with-dreadlocks-in-psychological-office-5699455/ 8. Photo by MART PRODUCTION: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-woman-relaxation-7606030/