Christopher Smith (he/his)

Spirituality cuts across all areas of our lives. There are various dimensions of it that go beyond any religious involvement and belief, which can be part of it. Other areas include your sense of vocation and purpose in life, what gives you a sense of meaning, the importance of symbols to you, and your emotional response to the divine or powers greater than yourself. All of these can impact your experiences including what led you to seek therapy or counseling, what can be helpful during the therapeutic process as well as add to your strengths afterwards. In the process of seeking peace and wholeness, you may find your existing spirituality is strong or you may explore parts of it that you want to look at differently. These are some of the ways that spirituality can be part of our journey together.

Having issues in your relationships, especially with a partner can be very stressful. We have innate desires to relate to others and know there can be strengths when not being just an individual. At the same time, we are individuals and have learned how to be on our own (or at least lol out for ourselves). At times, we need to look at ourselves and how we have contributed to what is going on. At times, we need to learn new skills to better relate. At times, we need to explore and find a way forward on specific issues. Working out what you need to do and then working through that offers hope for your relationships.

Family conflict comes in many forms. There are times that it is natural such as when an adolescent is develpopmentally trying to become on their own. There are times when family members are apart (such as adult siblings) and timed when everuone is together. After working out the goal and the stumbling blocks (which may be what was identified before starting but may also be other things), there are ways to talk about them and do things differently that will bring new qualities to the relationships between family members and allow the family to experience that deeper shalom that is desired.

Systems thinking, including but not limited to how a family is a system, is at the root of my training. I use systems think at all levels (internal, couple, family, groups (such as at work) and societal as the basis within which I approach my work with clients as a marriage and family therapist and then use techniques from other orientations that I have been trained in to work towards desired outcomes.

Couples counseling with all sorts of couples has been a significant part of my experience over the decades. I firmly believe that with someone on the path with them, couples can identify and reach a desirable conclusion that feels good to both of them. In most cases this is a renewal within their relationship with it being different than it was before. In some cases, it is a realization that this relationship does not have the basis for longer term continuation but that this does not negate what has been good and may not negate future relatedness in different ways.

The integrative approach is one that brings together aspects of other approaches and combines them to help the client(s) have the best chance on their journey. I have been trained in numerous aoproaches and am able to bring them in when they are likely to be helpful to those I work with.