Hi, I’m Samantha (she/her). I’m a mixed-race, queer therapist providing individual, virtual therapy to teens and young adults. I specialize in supporting young people as they process trauma, move through life’s challenges, and shape lives that feel authentic, meaningful, and joyful to themselves. These pivotal years can be overwhelming, complex, and full of questions around identity, relationships, and how to feel safe in your own skin. As someone committed to connection and compassionate care, I partner with each person to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where they can show up fully as themselves. I am particularly passionate about working with immigrants, queer, trans, and gender-expansive communities, and folks facing the impacts of trauma and systemic violence. My style is warm, thoughtful, and non-pathologizing – I am trained in relational-cultural and social justice models and believe healing occurs within a larger social context. I look forward to connecting with you.

Therapy is a space of care and presence where curiosity, vulnerability, and connection can lead to transformation. It requires courage and effort – I commend you for being here now and hold great respect for this work and each person’s lived experience. I don’t believe people are broken and therapy is not about “fixing” anyone. It is not a “one size fits all” process either, and that is ok. In therapy with me, clients can always expect safety and collaboration, a judgment-free zone, and that I will always be rooting them on.

I draw from relational-cultural models, psychodynamic and attachment theories, and trauma-responsive and strengths-based perspectives to guide my work. I am particularly interested in how trauma shapes how we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

I believe that clients feel held and empowered when they know their therapist’s identities and values. Some of my identities include white and Asian American, queer, and cis-woman. The therapy space is one in which all clients should feel cared for and able to be vulnerable, which calls for me to be mindful of managing the power dynamic that exists between the therapist and a client. I prioritize each person’s strengths and inner wisdom, honor feedback and accountability, lean into discomfort, repair rupture, practice cultural humility, and am dedicated to my own learning and unlearning processes to work towards anti-racism. Additionally, I seek out supervision around working with queer, trans, and gender-expansive clients, exploring privilege, and maintaining ethics and competence in private practice.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area and am currently located in Oakland. Working in this community is where my roots and most of my clinical experience lies.

I got my Masters in Social Work with a concentration in Trauma Informed Mental Health from Boston College. Before this, I had experience in case management and advocacy at refugee resettlement agencies as well as completed a public health fellowship at Bay Area community health centers. This fellowship occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was the spark for going to social work school. These roles shaped how I prioritize accessibility and dignity in my work today and view “wellbeing” as a holistic concept that requires looking at more than just the body.

More recently, I’ve supported undergrad and graduate students with therapy in a university counseling center and provided individual therapy, crisis intervention, and care coordination to young adults experiencing complex mental health challenges in the community in Alameda County. This included working in homes, psychiatric emergency settings, partial hospitalization programs, crisis residential treatment centers, etc. My background includes supporting young people through trauma (systemic, intergenerational, racial, sexual, etc.), community violence, substance use recovery, psychosis, disordered eating, interpersonal skills, and grief.

My approach is thoughtful, creative, and responsive. I show up with warmth and curiosity, not as an expert on anyone’s life but as an ally. I offer reflections, questions, and tools to support people in reconnecting with their internal sense of safety, self-awareness, and power. In therapy, I provide a safe container where people can explore patterns, feelings, and integrate somatic tools to process experiences cognitively, physically, and emotionally at a pace that feels right to them. I bring both compassion and a gentle push–always for the sake of the person’s goals.

I am trained in and integrate tools from narrative therapy, parts work (Internal Family Systems), and somatic and mindfulness techniques. I also sometimes bring in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools when it feels appropriate. Ultimately, I prioritize tapping into your strengths, honoring your experiences and wisdom, and working collaboratively. With teens and young adults, I invite creativity into the therapy space and for each person to be their whole self – no part is unwelcome.

• Adolescent: 13-17
• Young Adult: 18-25

• Individuals

• Asexual, Aromantic, Gray, Demi, Ace/Aro Spectrum
• Autistic
• Biracial
• Bisexual
• Children of Immigrants
• Children of Parents with Addiction
• Disabled
• Fat
• Gay
• Gender Nonbinary / Non-Conforming / Fluid / Agender
• Health At Every Size (HAES)
• Healthcare Workers
• Highly Sensitive People
• Intersex
• Lesbian
• Men
• Migrants / Immigrants / Refugees
• Multiracial
• Neurodivergent
• Polyamorous / Non-Monogamous
• Queer
• Transcultural Adoptee
• Transgender
• Women

• ADHD
• Adoption
• Aging
• Alcohol or Substance Use
• Anxiety
• Autism
• Body Dysmorphia
• Body Image
• Chronic Illness
• Codependency
• Complex Trauma, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
• Depression
• Gender Identity Dysphoria/Euphoria
• Grief or Loss
• Intercultural or Interfaith Relationships
• Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
• Medical Trauma and Healing
• Multigenerational Family Systems
• Polyamory, Non-Monogamy, Open Relationships
• Racial / Ethnic / Cultural Identity
• Self-Esteem/Worth/Compassion
• Social Anxiety
• Socioeconomic Inequity
• Spiritual or Religious Trauma/Abuse
• Stress
• Stages of Life

• Attachment Theory
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Liberation / Decolonized Psychology
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
• Motivational Interviewing
• Narrative Therapy
• Somatic Experiencing (SE)
• Somatic Psychotherapy
• Trauma-Informed

• Asian-American
• Biracial
• Chronic Illness/Pain
• Cisgender
• Queer
• White / European Descent
• Woman

• Buddhism
• Catholicism
• Christianity
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS, Mormonism)
• Non-Religious / Secular / Atheist / Agnostic
• Spiritual (non-specific)

• Credit Card

$175

$125 - $175

• Evenings
• Weekdays

I’d love to hear from you if you think we’d be a good fit or with any questions you may have. Free 15 minute consultations are the first step to working together and a great way for us to get to know each other better. Email me your general availability and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

Tracy Smith, PsyD #24366

07/28/2025