A place to start your questions
Practical reading about therapy, loss, injury, and getting started.
Read What Fits Your Situation
You can use these pages to learn about our practice and prepare questions for a clinician. They do not diagnose a condition or replace care. Start with the situation that feels closest to yours, then follow the related services when you want to learn more.
Online Trauma Therapy in Arizona
Trauma can make ordinary days feel demanding. Online therapy lets you meet with our Arizona practice without adding a trip to an office.
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EMDR Therapy in Arizona
You may know what happened and still find it difficult to feel settled. Ask about EMDR as part of a broader conversation about trauma therapy.
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Complex Trauma Therapy
Some experiences do not fit neatly into one story. Therapy can begin with what living through them means for you now.
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Driving Anxiety After an Accident
The paperwork may move forward while getting back in a car still feels difficult. There is room to talk about that part of recovery.
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Therapy for Healthcare Workers
Being able to keep working does not mean a difficult shift stops taking up space when you get home.
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Grief in Everyday Life
Loss can show up in an empty chair, an unfinished plan, or an ordinary day that no longer feels ordinary.
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Your First Trauma Therapy Consultation
You can ask about therapy before deciding to begin. You do not have to fit your whole history into a first call.
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Questions About Trauma Therapy
Clear information can make the first decision easier. These are practical starting points for a conversation with our team.
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Individual Therapy
One-on-one online therapy for teens and adults in Arizona, built around what happened to you, how it shows up now, and what you want next.
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Lisa McCann-Smiles, LCSW
Founder | EMDRIA-Trained EMDR Therapist | AZBBHE Approved Clinical Supervisor
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Maureen Njoroge, MS, MA, LAC-T
Clinical Mental Health Therapist
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Mariah Thomas, BSW Intern
Social Work Intern
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Find the Right Clinician
Not sure where to start? Choose a path by what you are dealing with, by who you would like to work with, or by the practical details that matter most.
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Practice FAQ
Straight answers about scheduling, fees, insurance, online sessions, privacy, and what happens after you reach out to Smiles Trauma Recovery.
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CBT for Trauma
Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions feed each other after trauma, and gives you practical ways to loosen patterns that keep you stuck.
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Cognitive Processing Therapy
Cognitive processing therapy is a structured trauma approach focused on the beliefs that formed after a traumatic event and how they shape your life today.
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DBT Skills
DBT skills offer concrete ways to ride out intense emotions, tolerate hard moments without making them worse, and stay steady in relationships.
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Internal Family Systems Therapy
Internal Family Systems therapy works with the different parts of you, like the part that keeps you safe and the part still hurting, with curiosity instead of criticism.
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Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy brings the body into the conversation, helping you notice and settle the physical side of stress and trauma that words alone may not reach.
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Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness-based therapy builds your ability to notice the present moment with less judgment, adapted with care for people whose inner world can feel unsafe after trauma.
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Therapy for Depression
When the days feel heavy, flat, or pointless, online therapy can help you understand what is happening and take small, realistic steps back toward your life.
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What PTSD Can Look Like
PTSD does not always look like the movies. Here is how it can show up in ordinary days, in bodies, and in relationships, and when it may be worth talking to someone.
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Life After a Brain Injury
A brain injury can change how you think, feel, and relate to people. Therapy can help you make sense of those changes and build a life that fits who you are now.
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Therapy During a Personal Injury Case
When an injury becomes a legal claim, recovery gets louder. Therapy can give you a separate place to process what happened while the case moves.
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Therapy for First Responders
You run toward the call others run from. Therapy can be a place to set down what the job leaves behind, privately and online across Arizona.
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PTSD Therapy for Veterans
Service can follow you home long after you leave. Online PTSD therapy across Arizona, at a pace that respects what you have carried.
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Therapy for College Students
Classes, roommates, money, and the past do not wait for each other. Online therapy for Arizona college students, scheduled around your semester.
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Therapy for Older Adults
Later life brings its own losses, changes, and old memories. Online therapy across Arizona for adults 65 and up, at an unhurried pace.
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Therapy for BIPOC Adults
You deserve a therapy space where your full story counts, including race, culture, and community. Online across Arizona.
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LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy
You should not have to educate your therapist or edit yourself to get care. Affirming online therapy for LGBTQ+ people across Arizona.
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Therapy for Immigrants
Building a life in a new country takes courage and carries real strain. Online therapy across Arizona that makes room for where you come from.
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Therapy in Swahili
Some things are easier to say in the language you feel them in. Our practice works in English and Swahili. Ask about current Swahili availability.
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Therapy for Professionals and Entrepreneurs
You keep the business running and the team steady. Private online therapy across Arizona for the person underneath the role.
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Medical Appointments After Medical Trauma
After a frightening hospital stay or procedure, the next appointment can feel like a threat. Practical ways to prepare, and how therapy can help.
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Sleep and Nightmares After Trauma
When your body will not stand down at night, rest can feel out of reach. What trauma-related sleep trouble can look like, and how therapy helps.
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Always On Alert
Scanning every room, jumping at sounds, never fully at rest. Hypervigilance after trauma is your body trying to protect you. Here is what can help.
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Trauma and Relationships
Trauma does not stay in one part of life. It can show up in how close you let people get, how you argue, and how safe love feels.
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Anniversary Reactions
A date on the calendar can bring the body back to a hard day, even before you notice it. What anniversary reactions are, and how to plan for them.
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Grief After a Sudden Loss
When someone dies without warning, grief can arrive tangled with shock and fear. Online therapy across Arizona can give you room to take it in at your own pace.
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Supporting Someone After Trauma
When someone you love has been through something frightening, it is hard to know what helps. Here is practical guidance for family and friends.
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For Parents of Teens Starting Therapy
We work with teens 14 and older online across Arizona. Here is what parents can expect when a teen begins therapy with our practice.
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What Happens in an EMDR Session
EMDR can sound mysterious until you know the shape of a session. Here is a plain walk-through of what online EMDR with our practice can include.
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Grounding Between Sessions
Gentle ways to come back to the present when your body feels stirred up between therapy sessions. These are general ideas, not a substitute for care.
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Setting Up a Private Online Session at Home
A few practical steps can make an online therapy session feel more private and less stressful, even in a busy home in Arizona.
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Out-of-Network Benefits and Superbills
If our practice is not in network with your plan, a superbill may help you seek reimbursement. Here is how it generally works and what to ask your insurer.
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Using Insurance for Therapy
Our practice works with some insurance plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Here is how to check your benefits.
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Questions About Clinical Supervision in Arizona
Practical answers for Arizona clinicians weighing supervision with Lisa McCann-Smiles, LCSW: fit, logistics, and what to bring to a first conversation.
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The Smiles Way
The values behind how we work: Remember How To Be Human™, invitation instead of pressure, and a therapist who walks alongside you like a trail guide.
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Panic Attacks
A panic attack can feel like an emergency even when no danger is present. Here is what panic can look like and how online therapy in Arizona may help.
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You Are Not Broken. You Are Becoming.
After trauma, many people feel damaged or permanently changed. Here is a different way to understand what has happened to you.
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When to Consider Trauma Therapy
You do not need to hit a breaking point before reaching out. Here are signs that trauma therapy may be worth exploring, and how to begin.
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Crisis and Urgent Support
Our practice is not a crisis or after-hours service. If you need help right now, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.
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Ask About Your Next Step
A consultation is a place to ask about the practice and discuss fit. Our client therapy sessions are online across Arizona.
Consultation Details