Athina Smalios, LCSW

Athina Smalios is a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of experience helping people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, anger, and challenges with self-esteem. She works with individuals who are coping with life changes, parenting strain, workplace problems, ADHD, and relationship or family concerns. Athina aims to make therapy practical and understandable for people under pressure.

Her style is warm and collaborative. She listens first, then helps clients set clear goals. Sessions focus on identifying patterns, building skills, and practicing tools that can be used between meetings. Athina uses straightforward methods so people can notice change sooner.

She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Therapy to shape sessions. That means work often centers on shifting unhelpful thoughts, increasing motivation for change, and finding small, effective steps forward. Techniques are adapted to each persons situation and pace.

Athina brings particular attention to trauma recovery, grief work, and caregiver or first responder stress. She also helps people dealing with isolation, guilt and shame, forgiveness, and questions about life purpose. Practical coping strategies and improved communication skills are common goals.

Based in Florida, Athina holds the credential LCSW, which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She offers sessions in English and uses formats that fit busy lives. New clients complete a short matching questionnaire to begin and then schedule sessions according to availability.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Athina commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing in online sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on spotting unhelpful thoughts and testing new ways of thinking and behaving to reduce anxiety and depression. Motivational Interviewing helps people clarify what they want to change and build the motivation to take practical steps toward those goals.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Athina will talk with each person about their goals and preferences, and then suggest ways of working that fit. Plans are adjusted as progress is made so the work matches real needs and daily life.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which help therapy fit into busy schedules. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits quick check-ins, and text messaging works well for brief updates or ongoing reflection. These options make it easier to keep momentum between sessions and use tools when they matter most.