Description
My practice is intended for and inclusive of folks who identify as: LGBQIA+, transgender, nonbinary, gender-expansive, Black, Indigenous, POC, sex-workers, kinky, polyamorous, sex-positive, plus-sized/fat, disabled, and/or neurodivergent.
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I think of my practice as dual-focus: relationship-to-self & relationship-to-others.
Relationship-to-self is identity work. It begs the questions: Who am I? How does my experience of race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc. affect how I see and move through the world? And, relatedly: How have I been harmed? When do I feel triggered? How/When do I experience care/love/pleasure/safety/security/trust?
Relationship-to-others is relational work. It might ask: In which relationships do I feel supported and loved? Why? Which of my relationships require and deserve investment to maintain? When am I best able to be present? How am I best able to “show up” for others? Where do I suppress my own needs and desires for others’ benefit? In what scenarios have I moved from a place of assumption, rather than collaboration?
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I identify as a Black, queer, woman (she/they/themme). As poly, kinky, & neurodivergent. And as a green-/kitchen-/lust- witch.
My birth chart is heavy with water, Mercury, and Pluto placements. IYKYK. But in case you don’t - people tend to experience me as deeply intuitive, inquisitive, and non-judgmental. I very much appreciate when therapy work breaches taboo subjects like sex, death, money, politics, and spirituality. I think that therapy is a suited container to explore some of the more obscure parts of ourselves and to grieve and compost pasts that were and/or futures that will never.
Much of the feedback that I’ve received from clients and students has included descriptors like - direct, genuine, insightful, approachable, and more than any other adjective, real. The movement roles that I most identify with are that of the guide/healer, the visionary, and the storyteller. Therapy, for me, is individually-focused liberation work where foundations are laid for all of us to live more communally.
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To find out more about working with me, important info about my services, and to book a free consultation, please visit my website: shakirasmithphd.com
I am currently scheduling individual clients for appointments on Mon, Tues, and Wed. Services are Telehealth/remote only and available for residents of Texas age 18+. I do not provide services for couples at this time.