Lura Smedstad, LPC

Lura Smedstad is a licensed professional counselor who focuses on helping people manage anxiety, depression, grief, and stress. She uses practical strategies to ease overwhelming feelings and supports clients in setting realistic life goals. Lura brings two decades of counseling experience to her work in Minnesota.

She blends cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness and somatic approaches to help clients notice unhelpful thoughts and body signals. Emotionally-Focused Therapy shapes some of her work around relationships and intimacy issues. Sessions often include straightforward conversations, short exercises, and simple practices people can use between meetings.

Lura has a background that includes pastoral partnership, art training, and clinical graduate work in counseling with an art therapy concentration. That mix led her to develop a style that values spiritual resources and creative expression alongside evidence-based techniques. She completed a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an art therapy focus in 2014.

Her practical focus is on helping people recover from trauma and abuse, cope with life changes, and rebuild self-esteem and connection. Lura also supports those facing caregiver stress, aging and geriatric concerns, postpartum depression, and first responder issues. She frames therapy as a partnership where the client’s own voice guides the work.

Telehealth has been part of her practice since 2020, and she continues to meet with clients remotely from Minnesota. Lura holds the LPC credential, which stands for Licensed Professional Counselor.

How her approaches work online

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try small behavioral changes to reduce anxiety and depression. Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on feelings and attachment needs to strengthen emotional connection and work through intimacy or relationship concerns. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple awareness and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve focus.

Choosing the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist talks with each person about goals, preferences, and what has worked or not worked in the past. Together they adjust methods over time so sessions stay practical and relevant to daily life.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let a therapist and client use face-to-face interaction for exercises and emotional work. Phone sessions work well when video is not possible and take less bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging make brief check-ins, homework review, or midweek support easier to fit into a busy schedule.