Lauren D. Smith (she/her)

I offer both talk-based and art-based online psychotherapy sessions to adults in New York and New Mexico.

Together we will reduce your symptoms of anxiety and depression. We’ll develop new personal tools and resources that support your overall wellness and a better quality of life.

Warm, personalized therapy can help strengthen your confidence. I will help you learn how to problem solve and approach your life and relationships with greater empathy.

Many of my clients reach out because they are ready to choose proactive and positive changes in their lives and relationships, but they may not know where to begin.

Lauren D. Smith is a psychotherapist, artist, educator and author. She owns and operates Lauren Smith Creative Arts Therapy, PLLC and is based in both New York and New Mexico.

Bio: Lauren has provided clinical services and consultation for a broad range of populations and settings including medical/surgical, inpatient and outpatient, outpatient psychiatric, community-based programs, education and residential rehabilitation. She worked at Mount Sinai Hospital from 2013-2021, serving as a Senior Psychotherapist and Child Life Specialist with the renowned Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and the Lillian and Benjamin Hertzberg Institute for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, New York.

She also practiced as Senior Art Psychotherapist/ Child Life Specialist and KidZone TV Producer (KZTV) in the Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai in New York where she developed therapeutic television programming for children and families in the hospital.

Lauren has been a member of the graduate Creative Arts Therapy faculty at Pratt Institute since 2016. She received her MPS in Creative Arts Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute, the country’s oldest clinical program in Art Therapy. She has also taught in the Art Therapy graduate departments of New York University, Southwestern College in Santa Fe, NM, and has guest lectured at the New School and the ICahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

She holds a New York State License and Board Certification in psychotherapy (LCAT) and is a Licensed Professional Art Therapist and Clinical Supervisor in New Mexico (LPAT). Lauren is registered nationally with the Art Therapy Credentials Board as Board-Certified Creative Arts Therapist (ATR-BC) is an Art Therapy Credentialed Supervisor (ATCS) nationally, and has completed training and certification in Child Life practice (CCLS), with expertise in child development from infancy to young adulthood.

Lauren has published and presented widely within the fields of psychotherapy, art therapy, traumatology, grief, pediatrics, geriatrics and palliative medicine.

She is a Co-Founder of the Taos Abstract Artist Collective in New Mexico.

PublicationsSmith, L. & Yazdian Rubin, S. (Dec. 2019). On becoming whole: Paul's journey through heart transplant. In Berberian, M. & Davis, B. (Eds), Art Therapy Practices for Resilient Youth: A Strengths-Based Approach to At-Promise Children and Adolescents. New York: Routledge.

Smith, L. & Yazdian Rubin, S. (2017). Can you help me say goodbye? Sibling loss and bereavement in the healthcare environment. In MacWilliam, B. (Ed), Complicated grief, attachment & art therapy: theory, treatment and 14 ready-to-use protocols. (249-262). London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Smith, L. & Yazdian Rubin, S. (2017). Vicarious Trauma: Supporting Bereavement and Self-Care Practice through Art Therapy for Healthcare Providers. In MacWilliam, B. (Ed), Complicated grief, attachment & art therapy: theory, treatment and 14 ready-to-use protocols. (232-248). London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Clinical Affiliations and PositionsGraduate Department of Creative Arts Therapy, 2016-PresentPratt Institute, Brooklyn, New YorkAdjunct Assistant Professor

Southwestern CollegeGraduate Department of Art Therapy and CounselingAdjunct Faculty, 2020-2022.

Graduate Department of Creative Arts TherapySteinhardt School, New York University, 2024Graduate Thesis Consultant

Senior Psychotherapist, Child Life Therapist and Clinical SupervisorMount Sinai Hospital 2015-2021Kravis Childrens’ HospitalLillian and Benjamin Hertzberg Institute for Palliative Care

EducationPratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, 2014.M.P.S. Creative Arts Therapy & Creativity Development.

Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, 2001.B.A. English Literature; Studio Art, 2001

British American Drama Academy, London, England, UK.The Shakespeare Programme, 1999.

CredentialsLicensed Creative Arts Psychotherapist, New York State LPAT # CAT0212851Licensed Professional Art Therapist, New Mexico LPAT # CAT0212851Nationally Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist, ATBC, 15-240Art Therapy Credentialed Supervisor, ATBC, 15-240