Meet Dr. Christa Smith | Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Mindfulness Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Christa Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Christa, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I called my business Touchstone Health and Wellness. A touchstone is a type of rock that is used to test the quality of gold. The gold is rubbed along the touchstone, and the streak produced tells you the high quality of the gold. My goal is to help people realize their strengths, their power, and their goodness. I want to be the touchstone for my clients, reflecting their beauty and strength. I think we all have strength and goodness in us, and sometimes we need someone to reflect that.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m proud to offer a unique blend of mindfulness and Western psychology and to have expertise in both. I like to show up authentically. There is a human behind the professional, and I let my client see me and my imperfections. I also practice what I preach, and I use the vast majority of the techniques I teach.

Every psychologist has a different kind of medicine. Mine is the art of self-love or self-compassion, which is the ability to develop a healthy and loving relationship with yourself. Self-compassion is an integral part of mental health and resilience to life’s challenges.

My approach to the goals and needs of my clients is a blend of mindfulness and Western psychological approaches. I am just as deeply trained in Buddhist Psychology as I am in Western psychology, which is rare. The mindsets and methods included in Buddhist psychology offer a powerful complement to Western Psychology and new ways of overcoming challenges that aren’t available in Western psychology. Some people need therapy that combines the best of Western science with the best of spiritual and existential approaches to healing. I’m psychology’s version of a functional medicine MD. I offer my clients the best of all worlds and I’m open to and supportive of the many effective healing ways my clients are interested in.

Whereas many people think of happiness as feeling good, I think we need more than pleasure to find a more enduring happiness. I think we need to be aligned with our values. We need to unfold according to the blueprint inside us. I don’t think the deepest and best kind of happiness is possible without alignment,

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Buena Vista, CO so we would hike every single day and make delicious meals from the Milk Street app for dinner. For breakfast, we would go to the Silver Whisker in Salida and eat almond croissants!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank my college psychology professor, Jaine Strauss. She made psychology fascinating!

Website: https://drchristasmith.com/