Melinda Smith, M.S., LPC, ATR-BC

It is a great honor to be of service to people when they are at their most vulnerable and struggling with life’s challenges. Melinda Smith believes that everyone will face times in life where they need that service with a trusted counselor. She balances truth and grace along with humor in her approach to counseling, and she strives to create an environment of safety and trust so that growth can occur. Melinda is motivated by the connections she makes with clients, building relationships, and seeing transformation. 

At Foundations Counseling, Melinda Smith works with a wide variety of clients who may be seeking services that include: 

• Children, Adolescents, and Teens – self-esteem and self-worth issues, anxiety, depression, school and family issues, effects of divorce, loss of a parent or loved one, art therapy, social and relationship issues 
• Relationship and Family Counseling – marital difficulties, couples counseling, dating issues, parental counseling, parent-child interactions, pre-marital counseling, parenting, blended families 
• Individual Counseling – anxiety, depression, stress, perfectionism, self-worth issues, sexual abuse, trauma, women’s counseling, Christian counseling, abandonment issues, codependency 
• Life Transitions – life stages, end of life and grief issues, miscarriage, grief and loss, career counseling, job transition, new parents, midlife counseling, empty nest syndrome, retirement 

Melinda is a Nationally Board-Certified Art Therapist as well as a Mental Health Counselor in the state of Colorado. She has a Master of Science Degree in Art Therapy from Emporia State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Pre-Art Therapy with coursework in art and psychology from Kansas State University. 

Melinda Smith has more than 25 years of experience working in clinical and educational settings with children, families, victims of domestic violence, and most recently, teen parents. She has an eclectic approach and works hard to find the right fit for each client by using Person-Centered Therapy, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), Existential Psychology, and Art Therapy. 

Melinda holds additional certifications in parenting education.  She is a Nurturing Parenting Facilitator, Common Sense Parenting Facilitator, and Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children Facilitator. She has additional training in crisis counseling, trauma informed care, and healthy sexual development. 

When Melinda is not at Foundations, she loves laughing with her family, nurturing plants, being creative, quoting lines from movies, and great food. A native Kansan, she has lived in seven cities in three states and has called Colorado home for over 17 years. Melinda has been married to her husband for beyond 30 years and they have two sons.