Stephanie Smith, Psy.D., Sacramento, CA Videos

If you want to love yourself, you probably already do. That’s where the trying comes from! People who love us don’t always treat us the best, just like we don’t always with them. We’re all imperfect lovers. But we can all grow. If you want to take care of yourself better- get specific. Just like you’d want any other lover to do. It’s not just, “I’ll do better, baby.” It’s, “here’s my plan to do better, baby.” See how your love grows. #selflove #selfcare #growth #psychology #psychologist #love #dobetter

“There is no amount of self improvement that makes up for a lack of self acceptance.” 🤯☠️ …ain’t that the truth, though? #self #selfacceptance #selflove #selfcompassion #enough #iamenough #youareenough

Maybe this makes me a bad psychologist, but saying affirmation statements has never been for me. But… who said affirmations have to be boring? On difficult body days I like to get some Diva Boss energy going 😎 What about you? #bodyimage #bodyimagemovement #bodyimagehealing #bodypositivity #bodyconfience #bodyconfidencemovement #intuitiveeating #intuitiveeatingofficial #intuitivefitness #healthateverysize #mentalhealth #psychologist #positiveaffirmations #affirmations #weightneutral

If your holiday isn’t looking or feeling how you think it “should,” you’re not alone. You’re not doing anything wrong. Sometimes it’s like that ❤️

Happy Solstice, everybody! ❄️☀️🎉 #wintersolstice #solstice #shortestday #itsgettingbetter #gettingbetter #sad #seasonalaffectivedisorder #longerdays #daylight #goodvibes #goodnews #wegotthis

Don’t let what you “should do” sabotage what you CAN DO. #productivity #dowhatyoucan #keepmoving #motivation #dosomething #getmoving #unstuck #stuck #block #creativity #creativityblock #thinking #system #yougotthis #youareenough #doyourbest #psychology #psychologist #motivational #motivate #positivity #progressive #progressnotperfection #perfection #thenextrightthing #dothenextrightthing #onestepatatime

Decision making comes down to ONE thing. “How does this make me feel?” Instead of fighting that, let’s try leaning into it. We can work WITH our feelings, not against them. #feelings #feelyourfeelings #emotionalintelligence #emotionalliteracy #decisionmaking #choices #chooseyourself #choosewisely #psychology #psychologist #mentalhealth #therapy

Anybody else feel this SO MUCH? So many choices, so many different lives, and here we are in this ONE, trying to live it the best that we can ❤️ #choices #lifechoices #changeyourlife #grief #appreciation #psychology #psychologist #philosophy #liveyourfavoritelife #liveyourbestlife #beyourfavoriteself #personaldevelopment #innerpeace #innerguidance #selfacceptance #lifelessons #lifeisstrange #mentalhealth

When something is stressing us out, we want to take ACTION to fix the problem. Unfortunately, lots of our stressors can’t be fixed like that. Instead, we have to find ways to take action INSIDE ourselves to find relief, at least at first. #stressrelief #stressmanagement #stress #stressvsstressor #innerpeace #innerwork #talktherapy #therapy #therapist #psychology #psychologist #thinkclearly #clearyourmind

#startedgoodendedbad Taking care of ourselves is SUCH A GOOD THING. I love supporting those I work with to do just that! But when what we are trying to do got combined with hyper individualism… We lost our way. We don’t need as a culture more self absorbed people- we have PLENTY. We don’t need to be solving the ones who care, we need to be solving the ones who DON’T. #startedgoodendedbad #community #caregiver #individual #collective #support #caregiving #individualism #collectivism #culture #balance #psychology #healing #mentalhealth #itsoktocare #psychologist

Escaping the constant battle ground of our minds when it comes to food actually CAN happen. Like so many women, I thought freedom from self hate and food pressure was the prize you got when you finally “worked hard enough” to meet your body goals. Spoiler alert: there is no end with diet culture. There is no prize and the tunnel just keeps spiraling. The only way out is leaving that whole toxic spiral behind. (NOTE: Those recovering into socially marginalized bodies will have different challenges than those recovering into socially resourced bodies. Advocacy for marginalized bodies is an important part of recovery for EVERYONE). #intuitive #intuitiveeating #intuitivemovement #healthateverysize #haes #sizediversity #bodydiversity #peacewithfood #foodfreedom #eatingdisorderrecovery #eating #eatingdisordertherapist #recovery #psychology #psychologist #therapist #therapy #mentalhealth

Even mostly securely attached partners can slip into anxious attachment patterns when going through a hard time. You’ve probably been in this dynamic before, on one side or the other. The trick is that now that you can RECOGNIZE it, you can do something different with it. Cheers to healthier, happier relationships! #relationships #couples #couplestherapy #communication #communicationskills #eft #emotionalintelligence #emotionallyfocusedtherapy #psychology #insight #wisdom #psychologist #therapy #therapist #arguments #fights #healing #growth

Is this you right now?🐛 ➡️ 🦋 Did you know that butterflies and moths have to completely break down into GOO during their metamorphosis? If you are the goo right now, maybe that’s how your butterfly era needs to start 💖 #transformation #metamorphosis #growth #change #healing #innerwork #trusttheprocess #keepgoing #keepmovingforward #dothework #strong #selfcompassion #youdoyou #butterfly #psychology #psychologist #mentalhealth #therapy #therapist #motivation #innerguidance #compassion #lost

Physical activity is the GOLD STANDARD for discharging anger. That doesn’t have to mean taking a bunch of extra time you don’t have, though. Discharging the feeling can be done pretty quickly through any process of muscle tension and release. I like the examples here of jogging in place, shadow punches, or dancing. I’ve known others who lay down and do muscle tension/release progressions and still others who get outside and walk- all for the same effect. Allowing ourselves to do whatever we’re doing with intensity fitting the emotion is the important part. When we do that, we find ourselves very quickly able to get the rage in check and the brain back online! #anger #angermanagement #rage #angerissues #aggression #exercise #move #moveyourbody #intuitivemovement #therapy #therapist #psychology #psychologist #somaticexperiencing #somatichealing

There are always reasons things happen. But getting caught up explaining them to try to excuse behavior is a trap, and it can ruin your relationships. Sometimes we just screw up. And there are reasons why that happened, but at the end of the day, it still may not be excusable behavior. That is actually the START of something good! Learning how to admit when you are wrong is the start of the best part of your relationships. Here’s why: When I remove the blindness that defensiveness causes, I’m able to focus on repair actions. And that doesn’t mean I sink into a pit of guilt, either. Being buried in guilt is just as problematic. It means I am free to acknowledge both my errors AND why they happened in a compassionate way so I can work on fixing what I can. Removing the extra layers of excessive defensiveness and excessive guilt allows clear headed and values oriented action to happen. IT GETS BETTER FROM HERE ❤️#gamechanger #newperspectives #relationshipadvice #relationships #relationshiphealing #couplegoals #couplestherapy #healing #selfimprovement #selfcare #selflove #selfcompassion #mindfulselfcompassion #healing #growth #growthmindset #innergrowth #psychology #psychologist #excuses

Do a self assessment: 1. Is this the right goal for ME *right now*? 2. Am I putting in the right TYPE and right AMOUNT of effort? 3. Have I accurately assessed how effortful this SHOULD be? #goals #winning #achieve #achieveyourgoals #success #successful #makingithappen #setgoals #selfawareness #selfacceptance #flexibility #pivot #setyourselffree #psychology #motivation #psychologist #mindset #therapy #performance

It really sucks to want friendships that you don’t have right now ❤️ You are not in that pain, alone, though! Most people will go through friendship loneliness at some point. If you’re really feeling it right now, take care and take heart. You’re not weird (at least, not about this 😉😘), there are things you can do, and you’re not alone! #friends #friendship #friendbreakup #relationships #relatable #change #growth #yourenotalone #inthistogether #lonely #loneliness #psychology #psychologist #therapy #therapist #mentalhealth

Taking good care of ourselves is just as good for us even if we NEVER lose weight. Saying “yes!” to living your best life doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll lose weight. IT’S STILL WORTH IT. #healthylifestyle #healthpsychologist #exercise #joyfulmovement #intuitiveeating #intuitivemovement #eatingdisordertherapist #eatingdisorderrecovery #mentalhealth #psychology #psychologist #bestlife #lifeworthliving #beforebody #habits #healthyhabits #selfcare #selfacceptance #nextlevel

It is OK to do what you have to do to get by. Eating, drinking, whatever it is you gotta do. But we don’t want to mistake that for processing the real feeling. We are PAUSING how we feel, not working the feeling through. When you’re ready to work it through, that’s for tools like #selfcompassion . #selfcare #selfcareinhealthcare #selflove #selfacceptance #emotions #emotionmanagement #feelings #psychology #psychologist #mentalhealth #wellness #therapy #therapist

Longing for an emotional home can be even more painful than for a physical one. It takes time to recover when we lose a place that we felt safe, seen, and comfortable. If this is you, take care ❤️ You ARE rebuilding, and the work takes far longer than society often expects. That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong 💕 #grief #rebuild #grieftherapy #therapy #emotionalsupport #homesick #mentalhealth #emotionalhealth #psychology #psychologist #healing #healingtakestime