April R. Smith, Psy.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist (LCP)

Dr. April Smith works with women, men and couples who wish to develop and affirm their core values in relationship to themselves and to others.

Overview

Dr. April Smith has spent her adult life as a student, a teacher, a wife, a mother and, recently, a grandmother. Along the way she has continued to develop her own interests in areas as diverse as Spanish language and culture, music, studio art, art history and American and Spanish literature, in addition to her degrees in counseling and clinical psychology. Thus, she brings a lifetime of rich personal and academic experience to bear on her practice of clinical psychology.

April R. Smith sees patients at the following location(s):

Cary, Illinois

Compass Counseling Center
5 Jandus Rd., 2nd Floor
Cary, Illinois 60013
Phone: 847-462-9662

Personal Statement

My practice of psychology is limited to a small number of clients who wish to work hard with me to develop a stronger sense of themselves within the larger society.

My primary training is in Adlerian Psychology, which emphasizes personal responsibility and social awareness--that each person understands his or her role as a contributing part of the whole. Thus, my philosophy is Values Based. I believe that there are consequences to our actions and inactions and that we become fully human beings when we accept responsibility for our behavior and learn to change in order to become the persons we want to be and ought to be. In a culture that in many ways has given up on believing in right and wrong, a society that wants to make excuses for everything, the person who truly desires to come alive must behave responsibly.

Though I believe in values, I don't see the therapist's role as that of judge. Nor is my approach to the individual client limited to any one therapeutic mode. The client's needs define the approach, which might include any of the psychological models or methods, and even art and poetry.

Although I've worked with many kinds of issues, I have found myself especially helpful to abuse survivors and to devout Christians, Jews, and Muslims who wish to work in a spiritually supportive environment outside of conventional religious counseling. I also have serious concerns about the risks to adolescent girls in our culture, and I want to help them make difficult decisions in dangerous times.

In addition, I believe in the value of close, personal, caring relationships - families and couples sometimes need outside assistance to sort out goals and rediscover the reasons why they're together. Regrettably, relationships don't always work out. Then, some individuals want help in redefining themselves.

Treatment Areas

Dr. Smith has experience treating the following areas: Adolescent Issues, Anxiety Disorders, Bereavement, Caregivers' Issues, Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims, Co-Dependency, Couples' Issues, Depression, Divorce, Domestic Violence Victims, Grief, Life Management Issues, Low Self-Esteem, Midlife Crisis, Midlife Issues, Panic Disorders, Parenting Issues, Personality Disorders, Relationship Issues, Seniors' Issues, Sexual Assault Victims, Stress, Vocational Issues and Women's Issues.

Treatment Modalities

Dr. Smith provides Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Goal-Oriented Therapy, Group Therapy, Individual Psychotherapy, Intelligence Testing, Marriage Counseling, Parent Training, Personality Testing, Psychological Testing and Spiritual Counseling. She works with Adolescents, Adults and Seniors.

Non-English Languages Spoken

Dr. Smith is fluent in Spanish