About Smith M. Tilka, MS, LMHC, NCC, CCTP

Welcome!  I am so happy that you made it to my page and are in the process of taking these next monumental steps in starting your healing journey.  My name is Smith M. Tilka, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Nationally Certified Counselor.  I specialize in psychodynamic psychotherapy.  I believe that the conditions of the mind reside in the intra- and inter-personal struggles that resonate and reverberate in the unconsciousness of the mind.  Many of these disruptions can be traced back to our attachment challenges and their subsequent adaptations that happened in our early life relationships.  Without a doubt, most of us had some meaningful disruptions in our developmental relationships.  Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “none of us make it out of our childhoods unscathed” and thus we carry the wounds and scars of those experiences with us throughout of lives.  That is not to put blame on those times and/or those people connected to it.  However, it is important to identify and process those situations in order to help us understand how the mind has developed and how those impressions can have their lasting influences on presenting symptoms within the here and now.  It is through gaining awareness, acceptance, and resolving these disruptions through processing action that I can help clients unburden themselves from their presenting issues and heal from their past wounds.

My clinical perspective and practices are based on the belief that we all have an innate Self that is

curious, courageous, compassionate, creative, calm, connective, clear-minded, and confident at our core.  However, we may struggle to access those parts of ourselves at many different times throughout our developmental lives.  And during those struggling times, we may have difficulty trying to find and/or access the right paths towards emotional, mental, and physical stability and well-being.  Moreover, we may have never learned healthy adaptations and regulation skills to work through those struggles.  Many of the clients I work with struggle with control, self-criticism, negative appraisals, obsessions, compulsions, depression, anxiety, and/or feeling not fully alive or at ease with being themselves in their worlds.  We work together to help reassess, reframe, and restructure the automatic behaviors and narratives ingrained from earlier life experiences.

I am committed to fostering a positive therapeutic relationship in order to help reduce and/or alleviate client’s symptoms with competence and care.  That is, because I know that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most powerful resources and tools that we have as psychotherapists to create the best therapeutic outcomes for our clients.  And this notion is empirically supported within scientific literature.  For me, I create this therapeutic alliance by fostering a comfortable, non- judgmental environment where my clients can begin to heal and grow.  I help my clients feel empowered and find their way to a continuous path towards growth and well-being.  Similarly, I work with my clients to address their challenges, uncover their potential, and lead a life that is worth celebrating.  Thus, I am excited to be on this path of self-development and self-awareness with all of my clients.  It is a true honor to witness a client’s growth and change.  Indeed, this is one of the most rewarding aspects of the therapeutic process for me.

I utilize both individualistic and systemic approaches to all diagnostic and treatment planning.  I treat individuals, families, couples, groups, adults, adolescents, and children.  I offer experiential healing, processing techniques, motivational training, self-regulation strategies, and psychoeducation.  I have been involved in the social and mental health service industry since 2011, and I have extensive training in addictions, traumas, eating disorders, relationship dynamics, and women’s issues.  Some of my additional specialties include phase of life issues, relationship issues, parenting issues, adjustment issues, disorders of the self, post-traumatic stress disorders and their trauma resolutions, family of origin and ACOA issues, codependency and addiction recovery, sexual and identity issues, grief and loss, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders.  For me, I believe in a holistic treatment approach integrating the mind, body and spirit into the healing process to promote connection with oneself and their outside world.

 

Smith M. Tilka, MS, LMHC, NCC, CCTP is a Sarasota Psychotherapist and Counselor with her office centrally located in the heart of Downtown Sarasota.  She works with clients via in person, by phone or through Telehealth services.

You may contact me directly by phone: (941) 623-6035 or by email: smithmtilka@gmail.com or  smith@mindsolsarasota.com

 

Clinical Experience: Over 13 years of experience within the Mental Health Field, which includes treating grief and loss, addictions, relational issues, family dynamic issues, trauma disorders, eating and body image disorders, suicidal and non-suicidal self-mutilation, sexuality and sexual disfunctions, adjustment disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety disorders, bi-polar disorder, and major depressive disorder.

5+ years’ experience in Private Practice

Credentials

Licensed Mental Health Counselor with the State of Florida (LMHC) Nationally Certified Counselor with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NCC) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Trainer

Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)

 

Education

Master of Science in Counseling and Psychology: Troy University (2020)

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee (2017)

 

Theory of Change

Psychodynamic therapy is a therapeutic approach deeply rooted in the theories of Freudian psychoanalysis, emphasizing the influence of the unconscious on behavior.  It aims to uncover hidden thought and emotional patterns developed from past experiences, particularly from early childhood, to understand and resolve current psychological issues.  This type of therapy explores unresolved conflicts, desires, and dysfunctional relationships through techniques like free association, dream analysis, and examining the client-therapist relationship.  The therapeutic environment is introspective and insightful, encouraging clients to delve into their deepest and suppressed emotions.  By fostering self-awareness and understanding the origins of psychological distress, psychodynamic therapy helps individuals break free from old patterns, leading to lasting personal growth and change.  It is particularly effective for addressing deep-seated emotional difficulties, complex mental health issues, and interpersonal problems.

 

Awareness, Acceptance, Action Model of Change

I believe change happens for all of us by a three-stage process.  This three-stage process consists of: Awareness, Acceptance, and Action.  Moreover, this process is considered fluid and is frequently repeated throughout our developmental lives.  Therefore, we continually move in and out of these stages throughout our life processes and each stage is met with many emotions and feelings that can be both positive and negative for the individual, couple, and/or family.

 

In the first stage, Awareness, it is without a doubt the most important and vital of the stages for us.  That is, because for all of us, there can be no need and/or agency for change to begin without increasing one’s awareness of a presenting issue.  Additionally, it is essential to note that awareness in this stage is meant as an understanding and reflection on self, situations, others, perspectives, and/or feelings with an open and curious mindset.  By engaging in this stage of the process we get to raise our awareness and insight about our issues and decide if we want to make changes to our thoughts, feelings, engagements, beliefs, and/or memories about it or not.

 

Once one’s awareness has been raised then we can get into the frame of mind of Accepting that parts about oneself or their life’s situations (past and/or present).  When we do not accept where we are right now, it is typically because we are entrenched in a defense mechanism, such as denial, rationalization, justification, suppression.  It is important to remember that just because one may come to accept something it does not also have to mean that one approves of it.  We are just accepting where we are with this issue at this very moment in time.

 

But we cannot move into the last stage, Action, until we have gone through the process of truly connecting these Awareness’ and Accepting the parts of ourselves and/or our situations.  Thus, we must self-actualize and “own it” to start the process of repairing and healing; thus, this is required in order for the change to start to take root.

 

Once that happens, we can start the Action stage by gathering information that leads one down another path and ultimately through the feeling, situation, and/or event.  If we start from a state of resistance or anxiety, it will certainly feel like a struggle.  However, if we have been thorough in our process of understanding, reflecting, exploring, and accepting what is and/or was, then moving into action stage will be the result of having worked through what is needed to be processed in the decision.

 

Finally, this three-stage process creates the framework that brings the mind, body, and emotions together to move one along the path of personal growth, self-compassion, and a deeper understanding of self.