Katherine Smith

Katherine Smith

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Antioch University Los Angeles
  • M.A., Clinical Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Dr. Katherine Smith came to the field of clinical psychology after working as a Human Resources consultant in healthcare and tech start-ups. After a period of self-exploration, she enrolled in the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program at Antioch University Los Angeles where she specialized in Spiritual and Depth Psychology. She then pursued a doctorate in clinical psychology with an emphasis in depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her dissertation was an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the clinician experience of treating suicidal patients and she continues to specialize in working with people who suffer from suicidal ideation and chronic depression.

Dr. Smith has trained in a variety of modalities and settings, including LGBTQ+ affirmative psychology at the LA LGBT Center and Angeles Psychology Group, neuropsychology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy at Wright Institute Los Angeles. As a result of her education and training, Dr. Smith’s clinical approach is broadly psychoanalytic with a soupçon of depth psychology and relational technique.

From Dr. Smith’s perspective, to be a psychotherapist is a vocation—something to which one is called—and, to paraphrase Jung, she is “deeply privileged to witness people’s souls through [her] work.” Dr. Smith has a private practice where she works with “loveable weirdos” – adult individuals, couples, and groups who may struggle with belonging, connection, creativity, neurodivergence, making meaning, and finding purpose in their lives.

In addition to her role as Adjunct Faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Dr. Smith is Adjunct Faculty at Reiss-Davis and Antioch University Los Angeles, as well as Consulting and Supervising Faculty at Wright Institute Los Angeles.