About Shawanda
Dr. Shawanda Woods-Smith welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, or the daily challenges of parenting and work. She is a psychologist licensed in Louisiana and brings 16 years of clinical experience to sessions.
She writes in plain language and focuses on practical steps that make life feel more manageable. Dr. Woods-Smith uses straightforward conversation to help clients set goals and try small changes.
She often combines client-centered listening with cognitive behavior ideas so people can notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors.
Background and approach
Mindfulness practices are introduced when they fit a client's routine and goals. Her work covers many concerns, including depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, intimacy issues, bipolar concerns, and ADHD. She also addresses family-related stresses such as blended family issues, caregiver strain, fatherhood concerns, and communication problems.
For people facing life transitions, immigration stress, or end-of-life caregiving, she helps map practical next steps. Sessions tend to be collaborative and focused on what the client wants to change. Psychoeducation is used when helpful so clients understand how development, biology, and social factors can affect feelings and behavior.
The tone is supportive but results-oriented. People can expect clear, paced plans rather than long theoretical talks. Dr.
Woods-Smith aims to create strategies that fit daily life, whether that means short behavioral experiments, targeted skills practice, or conversational problem-solving. She works in English and practices from Louisiana.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Client-centered therapy centers the conversation on the client's concerns and priorities, with the therapist listening closely and reflecting back to help the client clarify goals and priorities. It helps when people want a supportive space to sort through feelings and decide what matters most.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thinking that lead to unhelpful emotions or actions, then testing small behavior changes to see what helps. This approach is useful for anxiety, depression, ADHD-related task difficulties, and everyday stressors.
Mindfulness Therapy teaches practical attention and breathing strategies so clients can reduce reactivity and stay focused during stressful moments. These tools often pair well with CBT techniques for managing strong emotions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their goals, pace, and life demands. That may mean trying a few techniques and keeping what helps most.
Online sessions can make therapy easier to fit into busy lives. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper conversation, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging suits short check-ins or quick skill practice. These options give flexibility so clients can continue progress across changing schedules and locations.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 16 years
- Licensed
- Louisiana
- Languages
- English
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