Dr. Heather Smith, PhD
I have specialized training in anxiety and have had the privilege of training with national experts in anxiety and OCD.
Everyone can benefit from evidence-based care whether struggling with a life transition, feeling overwhelmed with everyday stress, or developing the best version of themselves. I have a special interest in helping families and couples. I pride myself on being authentic, down-to-earth, action-oriented, accepting and empathetic.
I believe blending evidence-based practice and individualized insight is the heart of effective mental health treatment. Let's find what works and what matters and do more of that!
I am a KC Native, graduating from Shawnee Mission South. I live in KCMO with my two daughters, and count my lucky stars that my grown son and extended family live nearby. I provide in-person and televideo appointments and am licensed to offer Telehealth in most states: Psypact Participating States.
I offer the following gold standards of care at Brookside Anxiety & Mental Health: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Habit Reversal Training (HRT), and Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Trauma-focused CBT (TFCBT), Integrated Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Get in touch with Dr. Heather Smith
If you have questions about my approach, availability, or whether I may be the right fit for your needs, please fill out the form. You’re welcome to share a little about what you’re looking for or what brought you here.
Training and Publications
I received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of South Florida, with a focus on anxiety and related interpersonal and family factors. I completed an APA-accredited internship at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration in Tampa, FL, with rotations including pediatric health, female psychology, and couples/family therapy. While at USF, I was involved in school-based interventions, healthy weight/eating disorder clinics, and a selective mutism treatment group. I completed my Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at the USF Rothman Center for Neuropsychiatry. In 2015, I moved back to my beloved Kansas City and accepted a position at Kansas City Center for Anxiety Treatment (KCCAT).
I enjoy sharing my work through publications and presentations, and hold membership in the Selective Mutism Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, for which I was honored as part of the 2017 class of its Career Development Leadership Program. I have held Adjunct Assistant Professorships at both UMKC and KU, and served as Director of Training at Kansas City Center for Anxiety Treatment. I currently hold Adjunct Graduate Faculty Status at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Feldman, M., Ojanen, T., Gesten, E., Smith-Schrandt, H., Totura, C., Brannick, M., Alexander, L., Scanga, D., & Brown, K (2014). The effects of middle school bullying and victimization on adjustment through high school: Growth modeling of achievement, school attendance, and disciplinary trajectories. Psychology in Schools.
Ojanen, T., Smith-Schrandt, H. L., & Gesten, E (2012). Associations among children’s social goals, responses to peer conflict, and teacher-reported behavioral and academic adjustment at school. Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 81 (1), 68-83.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L., Calhoun, C. D., Feldman, M. A., & Storch, E. A. (2013). Family conflict and childhood anxiety. In D. McKay & Storch, E. A. (Eds.), Handbook of Variants and Complexities in Treating Anxiety Disorders. Springer Publishing Company. New York, NY.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L. & Ellington, E. (2018). Unable to speak: Selective Mutism in youth. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56, 14 -18.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L., Ojanen, T., Gesten, E. L., Feldman, M., & Calhoun, C. D. (2011). Beyond situational ambiguity in peer conflict: Unique and combined effects of situational cues from an antagonist and a best friend. Child Development, 82, 1921-1937.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Anxiety disorders: Social factors. In A. E. Wenzel (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. SAGE Publications, Washington DC.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Selective mutism. In A. E. Wenzel (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. SAGE Publications, Washington DC.
Smith-Schrandt, H. L., & Storch, E. A. (2017). Selective mutism: Treatment. In A. E. Wenzel (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. SAGE Publications, Washington DC.
Stevens, S., & Smith-Schrandt, H. L. (2023). Scrupulosity: obsessive-compulsive disorder in children. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 61(11), 10–16.