Modern Mental Health Care for the Whole Family
Life can be messy. Having solid mental health support is essential to addressing both ordinary and overwhelming challenges, and the therapy practice of Jill Smith and Associates Counseling is ready to help. These well-trained, licensed professionals endeavor to provide effective, best-practice approaches in a warm and welcoming environment, so their clientele can experience a better tomorrow.
“It used to be that therapy was secretive and almost shameful. Today, we have become aware, as a society, that mental health is simply health care. Our mind, emotions, and behaviors are another part of us that we need to explore, spend time with, and challenge,” said Jill Smith, the CEO of Jill Smith and Associates Counseling (JSA), a modern, private counseling practice with locations at 426 South Lake Drive in Lexington and 1777 Bull Street in downtown Columbia.
A licensed independent social worker and clinical practice/supervisor (LISW-CP/S), Smith established the Lexington-based practice in 2003 after earning a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of South Carolina and working for several years as a therapist with other mental health services in the local community. “We built Jill Smith and Associates Counseling differently from the beginning,” Smith recalled. “Our core focus is based around providing a place where people find more peace and self-understanding through this exceptional group practice and exceptional therapy.”
JSA is a private practice group that now employs 20 therapists and 3 staff members—and continues to grow. The full-time employees are financially and occupationally supported with a robust benefit package and high-quality trainings that inspire and inform.
Because applying best practices is vital to mental health wellness, “We developed a set of core values that have guided us from day one,” Smith said. “Chief among them is that we believe in our group practice model. Because we are a group of professionals (not solo practitioners), we have many minds and perspectives to pull from, learn from, and lean on. The clients benefit from our case consultations with each other and the resources only a group can bring to bear.”
“We often refer family members to each other,” she continued. “For example, if I am working with a couple, their children might see one of our play therapists, and the husband might do individual therapy with another of our adult therapists. This is incredibly powerful—the family can give consent for us to consult with one another and bring to bear many perspectives.”
The counselors of JSA are licensed to provide “psychotherapy services (often called therapy or counseling) to all ages and stages,” Smith said. “Everyone is coming through our doors for therapy. Women and men from all walks of life—doctors, first responders, teachers, construction workers, lawyers, stay-at-home moms and dads, college students, and college professors. Many times, kids and teens are leading the way in their families, and they are the ones who first ask Mom and Dad to find them a therapist.”
“We do try our best to stay up on what’s emerging,” Smith said, “and because this field is changing constantly, we’re learning new approaches and learning new ideas about how to help people, harness their pain, and heal from it or how to think differently.” For instance, “We are one of the few practices that specializes in excellence in couples counseling. Everyone here who works with couples has completed emotionally focused couples therapy trainings, and the approach we feel is amazingly helpful.”
Their best-practices approach encompasses all of the services that JSA offers and even extends into practical matters. “We had an unwavering determination to make the experience of becoming a client (completing paperwork, paying your bill, and making an appointment) seamless, modern, and stressless,” Smith said. “We want healing to begin the minute your call is answered by a warm, professional voice.” To make a weekday appointment, “Call us and a person will answer and get you scheduled.” The practice also has a user-friendly website where visitors can request appointments online.
“Our intention is for healing to continue the minute you drive up and walk into our building,” Smith said. For this reason, the offices are housed within a “beautifully appointed” historic home on South Lake Drive, where the town’s first African American teacher resided. “We have the original hardwoods, doors, and fireplaces. Each room is exceptionally clean, bright, and decorated with intention.” However, “If time, transportation, or work schedule holds you back, telehealth is always an option,” she added.
Because developing connections is a mainstay of JSA, the practice also networks with other professionals in the region. “We are uniquely connected to the community,” said Smith. “We have a close relationship with many doctors, schools, nonprofits, and businesses.” For example, in a special presentation with counselors of Richland County School District One, JSA shared therapy techniques appropriate for school-aged children. For a couple of years, they have also leased the Nickelodeon Theater on Main Street, Columbia, during May (Mental Health Awareness Month) to screen an introspective movie and hold a related panel discussion with the audience. More information about the practice’s involvement in local activities can be found on JSA’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
As for the future, “We have plans to keep growing and serving those who are ready to go on the therapy journey,” Smith said. “Within five years, we plan to move across the state and to have locations in Rock Hill, Charleston, and Greenville with either brick-and-mortar, vibrant telehealth options, or both. Our model has a lot of strengths and a lot of stability, and we are ready to grow as a company.”
“We want to be you and your family’s therapy home,” Smith concluded. “We want you to feel you can start with us and stay with us; we are not going anywhere. We will be here to serve you now, in the future—you have found the right place!”
Jill Smith + Associates Counseling
426 South Lake Drive
Lexington, SC
1777 Bull Street
Columbia, SC