Our 
Story

Arbor Cove Therapy, LLC, was established in 2016, out of a desire to provide mental health care to individuals and families involved in, or affected by, adoption. The founder of the practice, L. Kathryn Smith, LCSW, RPT, began working in child welfare and mental health in 1999, and from early experiences of facilitating a grief and loss group for women who had made adoption plans for their children, saw that the dynamics of adoption were far more nuanced and complex than society typically acknowledges. Over the next twenty-plus years, she continued to learn from birth/first parents, adoptive parents, and most importantly adopted people, as well as from other mental health professionals, how significant the roles of loss, grief, and complex developmental trauma play in the lives of people involved in an experience often viewed in an overly simplistic way that leaves them feeling isolated and misunderstood and erects obstacles to them getting treatment and support when mental health needs arise.

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Over time, Arbor Cove Therapy has grown to support individuals and families healing from other forms of trauma as well, including:

• developmental trauma (defined by Dr. Allan Schore as “trauma in the first 1000 days, conception to age two”)

• acute (or shock) trauma (e.g. accidents, medical procedures, traumatic loss)

• relational trauma

• vicarious or secondary trauma (i.e. when professional or familial caregivers develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress as a result of ongoing exposure to witnessing or hearing about the trauma of the person they are caring for) as well as burnout

• spiritual trauma

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Additionally, we specialize in treating anxiety disorders, ADHD, depression, and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents, and since the time Dr. Lee Anne Dickerson joined the practice, have offered psychological and psychoeducational testing for children and adolescents. We also help clients through parenting difficulties, challenges with life transitions, and seasons of grief and loss.

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Each of our clinicians has individual interests and areas of expertise, but we share a core belief that when trauma occurs in relationship it can only be healed in relationship, and therefore approach our work from a relational, attachment-informed lens based on the foundation of Dr. Stephen Porges precept that "safety (the absence of threat PLUS a feeling of connection) is the treatment." We utilize a holistic approach that recognizes body, mind, and spirit are intertwined and must each be understood from the client's perspective and integrated into the healing process. As a result, we utilize cognitive, somatic, relational, and expressive modalities in our work. We also love to incorporate play and creativity into therapy and view our clients as the primary drivers of the goals and pace of the work. 

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We invite you to read more about each of us below and let us know how we can help you or your child. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Meet the Team