Ashley Smith, LMHC — Online Therapist in Florida & South Carolina
You don’t need another person telling you what you “should” do
You need space to figure out what you actually want.
Helping anxious LGBTQIA+ adults who overthink everything and struggle with boundaries
My Approach
Therapy that helps you understand yourself, trust yourself, and actually do something with it.
When we work together, you can expect:
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You don’t have to show up with the perfect explanation or know exactly what you want to talk about. Come as you are. We’ll figure it out together.
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Knowing you overthink or people-please doesn’t automatically make it stop. We’ll get curious about where those patterns came from, what keeps them going, and what actually helps change them.
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Setting the boundary is sometimes the easy part. We’ll work on tolerating the discomfort afterward so someone else’s disappointment doesn’t automatically send you into a spiral.
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You don’t need six opinions before you’re allowed to make a decision. We’ll work on recognizing what you think, want, and need, and trusting yourself enough to act on it.
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You won’t be pushed to unpack something before you’re ready. We can slow down, try a different approach, or focus on what feels most useful right now.
You deserve to feel understood, not just helped.
Maybe you already understand why you overthink, people-please, or struggle to set boundaries.
You’ve read the books. Saved the posts. Talked it through. You might even know exactly what you “should” be doing.
And yet, when someone seems upset with you?
There you are, right back in the spiral.
That’s why I’m not interested in just giving you another list of coping skills and sending you on your way.
We’ll make sense of what’s happening and work with the parts of you that still react like disagreement, disappointment, or uncertainty means something is wrong.
The goal isn’t to never overthink again. It’s to trust yourself enough that overthinking doesn’t get to make every decision for you.
Specialties
Different struggles.
Same support.
Explore my areas of focus to learn more about how we can work together. You can click on each specialty to find out if it’s the right fit for you.
You deserve a space where you don’t have to edit yourself.
Affirming therapy where all of you is welcome. We can explore relationships, identity, anxiety, boundaries, and what it means to live more authentically.
Your relationships shouldn’t require this much mental detective work.
If you’re replaying conversations, reading into texts, or constantly wondering where you stand, we’ll work on quieting the spiral and building more trust in yourself.
Keeping everyone happy is exhausting.
We’ll work on setting boundaries, tolerating other people’s disappointment, and making choices based on what you actually need, without the guilt spiral afterward.
What My Clients See
My Background & Training
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Education & Licensure
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Florida
Telehealth Licensed Professional Counselor, South Carolina
M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Adams State University
B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology, Colorado State University–Pueblo
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Advanced Training
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Brainspotting
Somatic and nervous system–based approaches
Solution-focused, strengths-based work
Motivational Interviewing
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Approach
Collaborative, affirming, and client-centered
Focused on patterns like overthinking and people-pleasing
Grounded in both insight and practical tools
Helping you build boundaries and feel more secure in your relationships
At a pace that feels manageable, not overwhelming
Why “Excelsior”?
“Excelsior” is a Latin word meaning “ever upward” or “onward and upward.” It reflects the idea that even when things feel stuck or overwhelming, growth is still possible.
You may have seen it in stories about perseverance, like in Silver Linings Playbook, or heard it used by Stan Lee as a reminder to keep moving forward. That meaning is at the heart of my work.
Therapy isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about understanding what’s been holding you back, reconnecting with yourself, and moving forward in a way that feels steady, grounded, and true to you.
