UZIMA COUNSELING & COACHING
Charlene Smith, LCSW
Hello! Welcome!
I am Charlene and I love that you found
your way here!
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The connection you share with your therapist or coach has the potential to be one of the most intimate relationships in your life.
Take your time, explore, ask questions!
I hope this small space of the internet brings you closer to what you are looking for.
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"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."
- Maya Angelou
MY APPROACH
My perspective is holistic and integrated. I view human behavior as an intricate connection between mind, body, emotion, and soul. Each part offering its own struggle and wisdom.
Each weaving the other into existence.
I work along side you as you gain insight and ability; developing a deep relationship with your wisest and most vulnerable "Self"; guiding you into an intimate and transformational connection with how you experience and move through life.
Not only heal where necessary, but gain the personal insight, self-trust, and inner authority to live a fully alive life - one rooted in authenticity, purpose, and personal power.
Body
Mind
Heart
Soul
Action
-THE SOMA -
Sensations
Nervous System
Safety
Stored experiences
Regulation
-THE PSYCHE-Beliefs, thoughts,
self-talk, narratives
Emotions
Feelings
Connections
Intuition
Wisdom
Energy
Spiritual Connection
Wisest Self
Habits
Coping skills
Practice
Value driven
Alignment
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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You hold your own wisdom.
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Expansion and growth happen in safety.
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Learning to Stay is your super power.
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Emotion, struggle, stuckness, pain are our teachers! When honored, they awaken us to extraordinary capabilities and evolution.
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All we do is in service of keeping ourselves "safe, alive, ok"...even when it doesn’t feel or look that way.
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There is deep value in the middle, the gray, the in-between.
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Your capacity to experience pain, grief, and fear is directly connected to your capacity to experience joy, awe, and love.
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Your untold story is instrumental to your journey and wants to be heard.
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Your potential is beyond anything you have imagined!
INTERVENTIONS
Psychotherapy and wellness practices have evolved over the decades. From universal themes and wisdom passed down from the healers and scholars of our past, to newer paradigms integrating knowledge of neurobiology, physiology, and psychology. ​
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I hold great value in the wisdom cultivated from the past, as well as the new insights and teachings of the present. If any one intervention was the ultimate answer we would be in very different circumstances.
Working from an integrative approach allows me to build a holistic and clinically sophisticated foundation to work from.​​
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Below are interventions and paradigms I draw from in our work.
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Depth/Jungian Psychotherapy
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Somatic Therapy - Nervous System Regulation
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EMDR
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Internal Family Systems IFS
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Expressive Arts
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Equine Psychotherapy
EDUCATION
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University of Utah / BA / 2007
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University of Utah
Master of Social Work
2009
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker Utah 2012
TRAINING
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Jungian Social Training Group and supervision
2017 to present
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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
2 year certification 2019
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EMDR
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IFS
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Family Systems Therapy
Stanford University 2017
BEHIND THE SCENES
My soul and body are the happiest outside.
Most of my life has been spent playing in the mountains; skiing, biking, hiking, and swimming in lakes.
Lately I find myself in the ocean more than on land.
I value my quiet mornings, they move me into the day feeling more grounded and connected.
I deeply value the relationships in my life. As well as my time solo.
The connection with the people and animals in my world, and the lands and waters and sky, are central to what it means to be me.
I am learning to play the flute, create pottery, speak Spanish, and hold my breath under water.
At times I day dream about surfing, though swimming seems to be more of the norm.
All of this being done slowly and with a bit of a scattered brain.
I'm a work in progress. I go to therapy!
I love mangos and blue berries. Sweet potatoes and broccoli.
My favorite colors tend to be variations of blue and orange.
And hot springs are heaven to me!
