Dr. Shawanda Woods-Smith, LA Psychologist
Helping parents manage stress and relationships
Book with Shawanda- Years in practice
- 16
- Credentials
- LA Psychologist
- Licensed in
- Louisiana
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Shawanda
Dr. Shawanda Woods-Smith helps people who are juggling parenting with stress, relationship strain, mood changes, or life transitions. She is a Louisiana psychologist with 16 years of experience and practical focus on issues like anxiety, depression, addiction, grief, and parenting concerns.
She uses clear, straightforward methods to support change. Sessions often focus on real-life problems and skills people can use right away. She combines client-centered care with cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused ideas to set small, achievable steps.
Background and approach
Her work leans toward building stronger communication and clearer expectations at home. She addresses blended family challenges, fatherhood issues, caregiver stress, and common conflicts that come up around parenting. She also supports people facing trauma, immigration-related stress, or end-of-life caregiving concerns.
Dr. Woods-Smith emphasizes practical teaching alongside therapy. Conversations include ways to manage emotions, shift unhelpful thinking patterns, and try new behaviors between sessions.
She draws on motivational interviewing to help clients find their own reasons to change. People meet with her online by phone, video, chat, or text messaging. Sessions follow a plan created with each person’s goals in mind.
She holds the credential LA Psychologist 1298 and practices from Louisiana, offering services in English.
What Shawanda works with
Everything Shawanda lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Shawanda helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Career difficulties
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Shawanda lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches and how online sessions fit
Dr. Woods-Smith commonly uses client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Client-centered work focuses on listening and building understanding so the parent feels heard and clearer about next steps. Cognitive behavioral work looks at patterns of thinking and behavior and teaches practical techniques to manage anxiety, mood, or conflict.She also draws on mindfulness practices to help people notice stress and respond more calmly. Mindfulness exercises can help with parenting moments that feel overwhelming by teaching simple attention and breathing skills that are easy to repeat between sessions.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, what has helped or not helped before, and then try strategies together. Plans are adjusted over time based on what works and what does not for the individual.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy easier to fit into busy lives. Video lets people work face-to-face from different locations, phone sessions use less bandwidth for simpler check-ins, live chat can be a quick way to process something between appointments, and text messaging supports short updates or reminders. These options aim to make ongoing work more flexible and accessible for parents balancing many responsibilities.
Questions people ask about Shawanda
What concerns does she help with related to parenting?
She supports parents dealing with stress, communication problems, blended family issues, fatherhood concerns, and the emotional strain that caregiving can cause.
What is her general therapy style like?
Her style is collaborative and practical, blending client-centered conversation with goal-focused tools to try between sessions.
How long has she been practicing?
Dr. Shawanda Woods-Smith has 16 years of clinical experience working with a range of concerns including mood, trauma, and relationship issues.
What credential and location are listed?
She holds the credential LA Psychologist 1298 and practices in Louisiana.
In which languages can someone work with her?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted; services are provided to clients within the applicable regions for her Louisiana credential.
What session formats are available online?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences.
How does billing and cost work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist factors; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
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