Bryony Smith, LMHC & Board Certified Psychosynthesis Life Coach

My name is pronounced BRY-uh-nee. I use she/her pronouns.

(Why pronouns matter)

I believe you have the inner resources needed to help you experience more ease inside.

Together, we can (re)discover and utilize them.

Welcome!

I’m a psychotherapist offering either individual counseling or coaching services.

How I can help

I specialize in supporting individuals with:

  • depression, anxiety

  • cognitive decline (dementia)

  • loved ones with dementia

  • aging & end-of-life issues

  • grief

  • post-concussion-related mood changes and struggles

My counseling and coaching can help you find greater meaning in your life and an increased sense of well-being.

I help motivated individuals integrate and find healing from the past while building greater emotional resilience and psychological flexibility.

My approach is both holistic and evidence-based.

My skills

I am an Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 3 trained therapist (through the IFS Institute) and am also a Board Certified Psychosynthesis Life Coach.

My training, studies, and memberships include:

  • A master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling (and a bachelor’s in Mental Health & Development)

  • Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), in Massachusetts

  • Somatic/body-centered emotional/trauma healing practices

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 3 with Cece Sykes and Margaret Conley, IFS Level 2 with Ann Sinko, Ralph Cohen, and Margaret Conley, IFS Level 1 with Leslie Petruk and Gwen Hurd, and was a Program Assistant for an IFS Level 1 training (with Carmen Jimenez-Pride and David Kitchings, 2025), and am on track for IFS Certification (expected by July 2026)

  • Certified Effortless Mindfulness Facilitator (a year-long training with Loch Kelly)

  • Psychosynthesis Coaching (12-month) training, Subpersonality Parts Work training 2020

  • The Flash Technique (Trauma Institute, Dr. Greenwald, 2023, an EMDR training)

  • Supporting Trans & Nonbinary Clients with Sociopolitical Distress with Dr. Sebastian Barr (2025)

  • Therapy for Dementia Disorders - Center for Mental Health & Aging (June 2026 with Dr. Regina Koepp)

  • Member of IDHA (Institute for the Development of Human Arts) - Transformative mental health, collective liberation, anti-oppression, and decolonizing mental health

  • Member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy

  • Member of the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association (MaMHCA), since 2017

  • and almost 30 years of Insight meditation (mindfulness) training and practice (completing 50 week-long silent meditation retreats) starting in 1991.

    • Independent study in school on Dementia and Caregiving

    • Since 2013, supporting several folks with dementia (Alzheimer’s and Mild Cognitive Impairment) and caregivers

    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - EMDRIA training with Mark Nickerson, 2019

    • Dozens of additional (interactive, live) hours of IFS training/workshops with Derek Scott (January - April 2023), Robyn Dickson, Mel Gabraith, Martha Sweezy, Frank Anderson, Joanna Twombly, Bonnie Weiss, Chris Burris, Bob Falconer, François Le Doze, Loch & Paige Kelly, and others, as well as professional ongoing IFS consultation (and my own ongoing IFS parts work)

    • Nonviolent Communication/NVC

    • Ruth Cohn, LMFT, online training: The Hidden Trauma of Neglect: Healing Unmet Attachment Needs (2025)

    • Clinical Trauma Professional (PESI 46-hour CE training with Janina Fisher, PhD, 2023)

    • AEDP-informed (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy - a highly relational model), Deliberate Practice workshop with Natasha Prenn in May 2025

    • Facilitated an 8-week Grief Support Group in 2022

    • I belong to a Buddhist Death & Dying group, since 2011, (exploring aging, end of life issues; preparation, planning, contemplation, reading, and gathering resources)

    • Embodied Experiential Dreamwork Certification (11-month training with Dr. Leslie Ellis, 2022) and Nightmare Treatment training

    • I’ve kept a journal (recording dreams) since 1988 - My mom did her thesis on Jungian dreamwork and recorded her dreams every day for over 40 years - A legacy gift

    • Co-facilitated a DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Skills group (2019-2020) at ServiceNet in Holyoke

    • ServiceNet, Inc, (Community Mental Health Clinic) Holyoke & Greenfield, MA – Outpatient Mental Health Counselor, September 2018 to October 2021

    • I was invited to participate in Dr. Judson Brewer's fMRI research studies at Yale University, for experienced meditators, in 2009 (and in 2011). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1112029108

    • Insight Meditation Society (IMS) Staff Board Member on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (with Joseph Goldstein et al) from 2014-2017

    • Retreat Manager at Insight Meditation Society (IMS), Barre, MA for ten years (2008-2019)

    • Guided imagery (active imagination) training at the Findhorn Foundation (Scotland) in 1989 & 1991, and in the Psychosynthesis training

    • Attended the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (Art Therapy Conference) in 2007 (Boone, NC) with Natalie Rogers, Paulus Berensohn, Deborah Koff-Chapin, and Paolo Knill

    • Bioenergetic (Somatic) Workshop at the Findhorn Foundation (Scotland) with Michael Lee in 1991

    • Co-facilitated a 2-week residential Polarity Balancing workshop, 1991, at Newbold House/Findhorn Foundation (Forres, Scotland)

    • Riverside Community College (CA), Psychology major (1989/1990)

    • Peer Counselor at Riverside Poly High (CA) 1985-1987 (after a campus tragedy)

My approach

  • While my toolbox and training includes CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) my approach tends to be more holistic and relational and is geared to the needs of each client. I collaborate with you, to see what might be most supportive for your growth.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based modality that can be deeply healing. The IFS model offers a clear, non-pathologizing, and empowering method of understanding emotional suffering, as well as an innovative practice that utilizes somatic (body) awareness and allows one the possibility of experiencing inner shifts, self empowerment, and even transformation.

  • I create a safe space for you to explore your inner world and any blocks getting in your way.

  • Checking my privilege and understanding oppressive structures is an ongoing commitment.

  • I ask that you bring a sense of curiosity to explore what’s most urgent for you, to help you create a more fulfilling life for yourself.

  • Humility, humor, curiosity, and relational engagement are key aspects of my natural style and my values.

Details about my practice

  • I offer online video calls for adults (for individual counseling or coaching sessions).

  • My counseling license is in Massachusetts.

  • I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Tufts, Harvard Pilgrim (Point32 Healthcare), and AETNA insurance plans for Psychotherapy appointments for clients who are in Massachusetts.

  • Coaching sessions cannot be billed to insurance.

  • As a board certified life coach, I do coaching work with people all over the world.

  • See “About” above to learn more……..

 

Perch Pond in Benson, VT

2026 fees:

60 minute therapy session $175

60 minute Coaching session $175

90 minute Coaching session $210

60 minute Intake, first session $190

45-60 minute clinical consultation with other care providers $175

(IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO KNOW THAT INSURANCE REIMBURSES THERAPISTS ONLY A FRACTION OF WHAT THERAPISTS’ CHARGE)

I offer sliding scale fees for private pay clients who cannot afford my full rate and who are not submitting bills to their insurance (for reimbursement).

I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim (Point32 Healthcare), and AETNA insurance plans for Psychotherapy appointments (for clients in Massachusetts).

If your insurance is not listed, you may be able to submit a claim for reimbursement to your health insurance carrier, if you have behavioral health and out of network benefits.

I recommend that you contact your insurance company to verify coverage and out of network benefits.

I will be credentialed to send claims to Medicare soon (by August 2026).

Coaching sessions are not covered by insurance.

“Transmission of trauma begins at the interpersonal level (i.e., from a parent to their child), and expands to the intergenerational level (i.e., a generation of parents to a generation of children), thus impacting an entire group or culture.”

-Dr. Jennifer Mullan, Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression & Historical Trauma