About Elizabeth Smith, LCSW
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Welcome. I am glad you are here.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and the founder of Breaking the Silence Therapy, LLC. Over the course of my 15-year career in clinical mental health and integrated primary care, I have dedicated my practice to helping individuals navigate the profound intersection of developmental trauma, neurodivergence, chronic physiological health conditions, and nervous system dysregulation.
My journey into clinical practice began with a foundational background in Neuropsychology at the University of Oregon, where I worked as a research assistant studying the intricate relationship between the brain, body, and behavior. This early scientific training completely shaped my philosophy as a therapist. I do not view mental health symptoms or alternative ways of thinking as deficits or failures; I view them as predictable biological and emotional adaptations to early chronic stress, relational trauma, and unique cognitive wiring.
An Empowered, Lived-Experience Lens on Neurodivergence
As a neurodivergent clinician living with dyslexia, I understand firsthand what it means to operate with a brain that processes the world differently. I know the exhaustion of masking, the frustration of systemic barriers, and the unique challenges of navigating a world built for a neurotypical standard.
Because of this, I do not see neurodivergence (including ADHD, autism, and dyslexia) as a disorder to be fixed, but as a specific cognitive architecture. This lived experience allows me to skip the cookie-cutter, rigid therapy approaches. Instead, I collaborate deeply with my neurodivergent clients to build customized, practical structures that work with your natural wiring rather than fighting against it.
Healing from the Wounds of Family Systems & Developmental Trauma
My specialization in complex developmental trauma and inner child work is informed not just by advanced clinical tracks, but by a profound personal understanding of what it takes to break the silence and heal from old wounds. Having survived severe childhood trauma and navigated the isolating, deeply painful burden of being the "scapegoat" child within an unsafe, unprotective family system, I know intimately how early environments reshape the developing brain and autonomic nervous system.
Because I have walked the grueling path of breaking free, reclaiming my own autonomy, and re-regulating my own body, I offer my clients a space of fierce, zero-judgment advocacy. I know what it means to carry those early survival adaptations into adulthood, and I know exactly how to guide you in holding space for your younger parts to heal while safely stepping into your adult power.