GORDON SMITH
YOU'RE HERE. COME ON IN.
Maybe you’ve been to other counselors, and, for whatever reason, you’re not looking them up right now.
Maybe you’ve tried everything you can think of, and now you’re searching for a counselor for the first time.
Either way, you’re reaching out and hoping I can be helpful.
If you can feel relaxed, open, and honest with a counselor, then you are likely to get something out of the experience. If you can feel relaxed, open, honest, AND confident in their skills and approach, then you will definitely get what you need.
Not every counselor is right for every person. I went through several before I found the person I could like, trust, and get what I needed. That right person is so important to find.
When we work together, you will feel understood, accepted and respected. You can expect a counselor who will meet you exactly where you are.
You’re in the thick of things, maybe at the end of your rope, and you need to be heard and understood. From the get-go, we’ll figure out what you need and how to get you there.
LET'S FIGURE THIS OUT.
When you’re searching for a counselor, you’re probably wondering…
Can he make a difference?
How different will this be from the other counselors I’ve tried?
How long will it take?
The short answers are yes, very, and I don’t know (but we’ll start working from day one).
CONTACT ME NOW
Schedule your appointment.
Get your free consultation.
Begin it now.
Counseling is important because it works.
You can come unstuck, even if you feel like you’ve tried everything or that your problem is too big to handle.
You will move through a process of connecting, gaining awareness, figuring out where you want your life to go, and then getting there.
I’ve learned what works, and people have grown immeasurably through our work together.
If counseling is going to be helpful, feeling understood is the most important element. That means having a counselor who knows how to join you where you are, understand the gravity of your situation, and laugh when it’s funny.
You make a big decision when you decide to go talk to someone you don’t know about the most important and most personal parts of your life! I get it.
HERE’S MORE INFO (including jargon, education, and experience!)
Gifted, talented, creative, asynchronous, overexcitable, twice exceptional, highly sensitive, intense, quirky – If you see yourself or your teen in this list, know that I specialize in work with gifted teens, adults, and families.
My service ethic led me from Warren Wilson College to community reconciliation work in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
From there I continued a trajectory toward a career in service. In 2001, I graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in Community Counseling, and I’ve been a practicing counselor ever since.
In addition to working with clients, I also served for eight years as an elected official on the City Council of Asheville, North Carolina while also serving on numerous other boards in the community.
At our first session, I’ll ask you a version of this question, “If we are successful, what is going to be different in your life/lives?”
From there we’ll keep our eyes on solutions, through a style that incorporates Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Systems Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Existential Therapy.
I live in West Asheville with my wife. I enjoy chess, writing, leisure sports, reading, travel, movies, and spending time with family and friends.
I love Asheville, and I find great satisfaction in offering competent, compassionate service to the people who live here.
RECENT TRAININGS
Coaching Creative, High-potential Drop-outs in their Search for Meaning
Designing Gifted Wellness
The Gifted Graduate: Transitions After High School
Electronics Use in Gifted Kids, Teens, and Adults: The Good, The Bad, and What We Don’t Know
Counseling the Gifted Adult: Advanced Methods–If the Answers Were Simple the Client Would Have Figured Them Out Already
Giving Voice to Gifted Adults
Stop Trying to Stay Ahead of Them: A Coach Approach to Working with Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Kids
Calming the Calamities: Navigating Anxiety, Angst & Anger Among the Gifted
Gifted Therapists: Working Effectively with Exceptional Children and Their Families
Gifted Psychology with Intergifted Director, Dr. Jen Harvey Sallin
EMDR Level 1
[Trainer] Gifted Adolescents, Adults, and Families at Lenoir-Rhyne University
Asynchronous Development: Practical Applications of A Concept Born from Experience – The Columbus Group.
Professionals’ Training for Treating Survivors of Narcisstic Abuse
Understanding Neuropsychological Assessment
The Gifted: Frustrated and Misunderstood – part of SENG’s Misdiagnosis Initiative
Being Seen: Self Concept Development in Gifted Adults
The Psychological and Emotional Costs of the Freeze Response in Gifted Students Over a Lifetime.
The Search for Meaning: Existential Issues for Gifted Children
GIFTED | TALENTED | CREATIVE | ASYNCHRONOUS | OVEREXCITABLE | TWICE EXCEPTIONAL | HIGHLY SENSITIVE | INTENSE | QUIRKY