- Warm interactive style
- Practical coping skills
- Trauma informed care
About Karyn
Dr. Karyn Smith is a Minnesota psychologist with 25 years of experience helping people work through stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, and codependency concerns. She uses a warm, interactive style that aims to make difficult conversations easier to manage. People describe her approach as respectful and compassionate while focused on practical steps forward.
Her work draws on several well-known therapy methods, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Client-Centered Therapy, and the Gottman Method. Dr. Smith shapes each session to fit what a person needs that week, combining techniques to address symptoms and underlying patterns. She often helps people build coping skills, manage emotions, and work through past trauma and relationship wounds.
Over her career she has supported people facing grief, addiction, parenting stress, ADHD, and career transitions, among other concerns. She also works with issues such as eating and sleeping problems, caregiver stress, and concerns around gender and sexuality. Her background includes long experience with trauma and abuse survivors and people navigating recovery from substance use.
Dr. Smith holds the credential MN Psychologist 6271, which indicates licensure in Minnesota. Sessions are conducted in English and she does not accept international clients at this time. To begin, clients use the site's Start Therapy button to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule according to therapist availability.
Her style is collaborative and practical. She helps people set clear goals and tries to make therapy feel doable within everyday life.
Therapy approaches and how they translate online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying values and taking small actions toward them while learning to live with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. It can help when anxiety, depression, or codependency patterns make decisions feel overwhelming. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and teaches practical strategies to change unhelpful patterns; it is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep, and many everyday challenges. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emphasizes skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and improved communication, which can be helpful for intense emotions and relationship difficulties.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will help figure out which methods fit a person’s goals, symptoms, and preferences, and will adapt techniques as needs change. Sessions are collaborative and paced to what each person can handle at the time.
Confirm current session options before booking since the biography does not list specific formats. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. When format options are available, choosing one is about what best supports regular attendance and practical needs rather than any single method.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Credentials
Minnesota
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, codependency, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, parenting strains, ADHD, and related issues.
What is her therapy style like?
She uses a warm, interactive, and respectful style that focuses on practical steps and collaborative conversation to meet each person’s needs.
How much experience does she have?
She has 25 years of clinical experience working as a psychologist, therapist, counselor, and life coach with many different concerns.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is listed as MN Psychologist 6271 and practices in Minnesota.
Which languages are available for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Are international clients accepted?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions paid for and what does it cost?
Cost varies by location and therapist arrangements; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with therapy?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.