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Loretta Smith, LCSW

Experienced mental health professional

Provides online counseling through BetterHelp

At a glance

Loretta is an experienced, licensed Mental Health Professional who specializes in affordable online therapy offered through our partner, BetterHelp.

5.0 stars
Clients are very satisfied with Loretta. View 31 reviews
Speaks English
Offers Telehealth visits
Licensed in Indiana

Recent reviews

I have worked with Loretta since January 2020 and I am so grateful for everything she helped me work through over the last three years. I highly recommend her as a therapist. She is kind, a great listener, and extremely patient.

Reviewed January 2023

Loretta is amazing. She listens without judging, and helps me process things and open up in a way I have trouble doing on my own.

Reviewed December 2020

More about Loretta

  • 5 years' experience
  • Female
  • LCSW

Welcome! I truly am happy you are reaching out. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our life challenges would communicate with a Global Pandemic and find a middle ground instead of yelling louder than the others to be heard?! Well, as we are still figuring that one out, I look forward to being here for you and helping you with concepts such as communicating effectively or changing your mindset since we cannot change the mindset of COVID-19! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Indiana and have been working full time through telehealth platforms since Summer 2019. I have been providing counseling and social work services since 2006 in a variety of settings including residential, school-based, foster care, outpatient, and home-based. I have an extensive history working with individuals, families, couples, relationship, adults, and children.

I am a skilled, empathetic listener who can help you clarify concerns and problem-solve the issues that are keeping you from feeling whole. As a therapist I have been able to work with most mental health diagnoses, age ranges, addictions, abuse, medical complications within individual and family centered treatment models. Below you will see the areas I have the most experience in and if I ever feel as though your needs would be suited better with another professional, I will let you know. I strongly believe that the things you are challenged with are not only about you! Family, no matter who you call your family, has a significant impact on how you can cope with changes to your mental health.

Building rapport with you is my biggest priority. Most individuals I serve have told me they appreciate my level of self-disclosure and connection to what they are going through. I work extremely hard to meet each person where they are, and if my story is not important to your healing, then I let that go. My treatment approach changes based on what each individual needs. I use a variety of techniques from Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Mind-fullness and Solution-Focused therapy.

To put my style plainly, I use “techniques” (deep breathing, radical acceptance, challenging thoughts) and help you recognize how to adapt them to your daily life so you can feel empowered and in control when life seems out of control. I would be honored to walk this path beside you when you are ready.

As COVID and isolation restrictions are still changing throughout the world, I know access to mental health services are almost more important than ever. I work extremely hard to offer you a schedule that works for you. I will be working T-W-R-Sa. My start times and end times vary between 9am-10pm EDT/EST, and my typical response times to unscheduled messages are between 24-72 hours. If you ever need a specific schedule due to your time zone or work needs, please know that I will make every effort to meet those for you.

About Loretta:

Loretta Graduated from Ball State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s in Family and Child Development and a minor in social work. Loretta went on to teach and develop parenting curriculum's as well as lesson plans for toddlers and preschoolers at the university child center. Loretta continued her family and child work into foster care settings. Loretta went on to receive her Master’s in Social Work from IUPUI in 2015 and began providing services to teens, children, and families in schools. Loretta's most recent role outside the home was as a therapist and team leader for adults, children, addictions, and Serious Mentally Ill (SMI) populations. Loretta is married with 2 children and a dog. Her family enjoys traveling, water sports like sailing and surfing, and in general being in the sun.

Specialties

Stress Anxiety Family conflicts Trauma and abuse Grief Depression Addictions LGBT Relationship issues Intimacy-related issues Parenting issues Anger management Self esteem Bipolar disorder Coping with life changes Compassion fatigue ADHD Abandonment Adoption and foster care Antisocial personality Attachment issues Autism and Asperger Syndrome Avoidant personality Caregiver issues and stress Chronic pain illness and disability Codependency Commitment issues Communication problems Control issues Coping with natural or human-caused disaster Dependent personality Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) Dissociation Divorce and separation Domestic violence Drug and alcohol addiction Emptiness Family of origin issues Family problems First responder issues Forgiveness Guilt and shame Impulsivity Isolation / loneliness Jealousy Life purpose Midlife crisis Mood disorders Narcissism Obsessions compulsions and OCD Panic disorder and panic attacks Paranoia Personality disorders Phobias Postpartum depression Post-traumatic stress Pregnancy and childbirth Process addiction (porn exercise gambling) Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Self-harm Self-love Sexual assault and abuse Sexuality Social anxiety and phobia Trichotillomania Women's issues Workplace issues Young adult issues

Treatment Approaches

  • Client-Centered Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Mindfulness Therapy
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Solution-Focused Therapy
  • Trauma-Focused Therapy

Licenses

Loretta Smith's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1851836548.

  • LCSW · Indiana · 34008437A · Expires April 2026

About online counseling

Affordable.
Pay a low flat fee.
Convenient.
Do it at your own time and at your own pace. Communicate whenever you feel it's needed.
Available now.
There is no waiting list and no calls to make. Simply fill out a short questionnaire and send your first message.

Online counseling allows you to receive care from a mental health practitioner via phone, video chat, or instant messaging. It is convenient for those who may have trouble getting to or would prefer not to have in-person therapy appointments. Starting at $65 per week, online counseling is generally more affordable than in-person counseling. A study by researchers at University of California, Berkeley found that online counseling can be just as effective as face-to-face therapy while being more convenient, affordable, and accessible.

Reviews for Loretta Smith

All reviews have been submitted by clients after seeing the provider.

Overall rating:

5.0

31 reviews

5
4
3
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1

Clients mention: Great Listens Recommend Helped Amazing Grateful Helpful Professional Understanding Anxiety

I have worked with Loretta since January 2020 and I am so grateful for everything she helped me work through over the last three years. I highly recommend her as a therapist. She is kind, a great listener, and extremely patient.

Reviewed January 2023

Loretta is amazing. She listens without judging, and helps me process things and open up in a way I have trouble doing on my own.

Reviewed December 2020

Loretta is very generous with her time and is very understanding and encouraging. She’s able to pick up what the issue and need is and offers practical advice and resources such as recommendations of books and articles to help you. She’s great and I highly recommend her!

Reviewed May 2020

I love that Loretta Smith is compassionate. She listens and thoughtfully responds. She gives actionable advice on how to deal with challenges. I would recommend her to anyone who needs a counselor.

Reviewed March 2020

Loretta is the best. She always has time to help me.

Reviewed February 2020

Loretta is the first person I have talked to since the loss of my son that actually listens and finds ways to support and help me through this. I am so thankful for her experience, concern, advice, and knowledge.

Reviewed January 2020

Loretta has been amazing in the couple of weeks since we started talking! She's able to get to the heart of the matter and help me pinpoint the exact things I need to work on to get healthy. She's great at offering links to resources and sending me helpful worksheets to get me thinking. With the tools she's given me, I already feel like I'm starting to heal!

Reviewed August 2019

I am so grateful for Loretta! With each session, I feel so much better about the next steps for recovering WELL.

Reviewed August 2019

Loretta is very thorough and takes the time to help me process every little detail.

Reviewed April 2022

Loretta is a phenomenal therapist who I've worked with for what feels like forever. She's helped make my transition from Marine to Civilian be less crazy and helped with all the bumps along the way! Thank you!!!!

Reviewed November 2021

Loretta is a very professional therapist and a wonderful mentor - she not only provides me with different perspectives in seeing things in life but also always patient in supporting me through the thick and thin. I really appreciate being paired with her since the beginning and further appreciate the opportunity right now being able to continue working with her.

Reviewed June 2021

Lorretta really listens well and gives a lot of help to solve things that may be causing you anxiety and depression. I would definitely recommend her to anyone needing her services. She has a lot of knowledge in her field and offers great advice.

Reviewed January 2021

Loretta is kind and attentive. She's so helpful with problem solving, or just listening while I rant. I feel very fortunate to have her as my counsellor, and look forward to our calls.

Reviewed August 2020

I really appreciate how Loretta listens to me. She's knowledgeable of neuro-divergant and ADD personalities.

Reviewed August 2020

Loretta listens. Really really listens to what I have to say. She’s helped me develop in such a short amount of time when I felt like I had tried everything. She offers targeted specific therapies in all varieties to promote wellness and allow for proper awareness.

Reviewed June 2020

The only counselor I've ever had that I feel actually hears me, and give me small goals to work towards.

Reviewed June 2020

I feel very comfortable with Loretta and have only had two sessions with her. This is my first time having therapy as well so she is very personable. She has sent me a few worksheets that have been very helpful and supportive. I appreciate that she also shares about herself and makes it feel like a conversation rather than just her listening to me and I get to know her on a deeper level as well.

Reviewed May 2020

Loretta is amazing!! So compassionate and really helps me think through my negative thought processes. Down to earth and professional!

Reviewed May 2020

When I started sessions with Loretta, I was concerned about her psych experience and her treatment, then I was scared and worried that she might understand the wrong way, but she changed everything, she changed me, changed my way of doing and saying everything, she has that cutie vibe to her, and she also understands how a teenager feels being a modern parent I love Loretta and I wish her all the very best. ❤️

Reviewed May 2020

I am so grateful to be working with Loretta. She is extremely compassionate and also very solutions oriented. Every session ends with something I can try in the upcoming week that might help me to feel better. She infuses our sessions with empathy and relatable sharing of her own experiences. I love that she isn't afraid to share about herself when it's appropriate, it definitely goes a long way to building rapport. I look forward to our weekly sessions, and I know that they are already helping immensely. Thank you, Loretta. You're a great ally to have!

Reviewed April 2020

Ms. Smith’s approach is welcoming and friendly. She is a great note taker making it very easy to revisit historical conversations. She listens well and provides thoughtful insights. I feel that much of the work of counseling is self-realization and as we talk through issues and feelings and I get to an “ah-ha moment”, I know I got there by her guidance. I’m very pleased with my experience.

Reviewed April 2020

Very good and easy to talk to

Reviewed March 2020

Loretta has been incredible at helping me cope with some major life changes over the past few months. I'm so grateful for her guidance and calm presence during this wild time!

Reviewed March 2020

Loretta is the best!

Reviewed March 2020

I've only just started working with Loretta, and we have had 2 face to face video sessions plus messages. But in that short time she has given me so much confidence to open up, allowed me to feel heard, and given me space to crystallize my thoughts. She has so much empathy, and asks questions that challenge me but in a good way. She's great!

Reviewed February 2020

Loretta Smith really makes you feel comfortable, I felt like I have been able to open up to her within my own time, she has been very patient and understanding and I would strongly recommend her!

Reviewed December 2019

I've not had enough time to build a strong enough rapport yet, but in the short time I've been talking with Loretta, she has been professional, kind, thorough and accommodating. I look forward to working further with her.

Reviewed December 2019

Loretta has managed to turn my life around in this month. She has helped me to better become the person I want to be. We have a long journey ahead of us, but I am confident Loretta will help me to get what I need and gather the tools for my future. She is an asset I cannot even begin fully explain.

Reviewed September 2019

Hi, in our limited experience together I found her to be accessible, supportive professional and helpful. My particular case is a bit complicated legally (and in french!) but the reasons for not wanting to continue are situational versus reflective of this excellent service. I wish I had known about 6 months ago when I was isolated and thought I was losing my mind. Strongly recommend both Loretta and BetterHelp.

Reviewed September 2019

Loretta has been amazing. It feels great to just be able to communicate with someone who is so understanding. I always look forward to hearing back from her as the responses are just what I need at times. Highly recommend

Reviewed August 2019

She is wonderful

Reviewed August 2019

How was your experience with Loretta?

Frequently asked questions

Does Loretta Smith offer telehealth visits?

Yes. Loretta Smith works with clients by exchanging messages, chatting live, speaking over the phone, or video conferencing based on what works for the client at that particular time.

What language(s) does Loretta Smith speak?

Loretta Smith speaks English.

How many years of experience does Loretta Smith have?

Loretta Smith has 5 years of experience.

Where is Loretta Smith licensed to practice?

Loretta Smith is licensed to practice in Indiana.

Does Loretta Smith accept clients outside of the United States?

Yes, Loretta Smith accepts clients outside of the United States.

Is online therapy as effective as in-person therapy?

Numerous studies support the effectiveness of online platforms in facilitating life changes. For instance, research published by JMIR Publications, conducted by teams from the University of Berkeley, UCSF, and SF General Hospital, found that "users of BetterHelp experienced significantly reduced depression symptom severity after engaging with the platform."

What treatment approaches does Loretta Smith offer?

Loretta Smith offers clients Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Trauma-Focused Therapy.

How can I communicate with Loretta Smith?

Loretta Smith can be engaged in any one of four ways: (1) Exchanging messages, (2) chatting live, (3) speaking over the phone, or (4) video conferencing. You can use different ways at different times as you wish, based on your needs, availability, and convenience.

How do I get started with Loretta Smith?

Just tap the CHAT NOW button or tap here: A new window will open and you'll be directed to a simple form that will help start the conversation. Please note: It can take up to a few days to be matched to a therapist.

Mental health conditions are real, common, and treatable.

And recovery is possible.

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When you tap CHAT NOW a new window will open and you'll be directed to a simple form that will help start the conversation. Please note: It can take up to a few days to be matched to a therapist.