Nicola Pierre-Smith, LPC

Nicola Pierre-Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania, and Black therapist who knows it is hard for people to ask for help because of internalized shame and mental health stigma. Pierre-Smith is aware that it is especially hard for people from the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community to go to therapy because of cultural norms and the preference to talk to friends, family, or religious leaders. With this in mind, Pierre-Smith created Melanated Women's Health, LLC in 2019 to provide a culturally affirming therapy space that is both inclusive and accessible for people with intersecting identities. 

Pierre-Smith understands that the intersections of a person's identities (for example race, gender, immigration status, sexuality, etc) influence how they engage with the world. She offers individual trauma therapy for recent trauma and complex trauma, using Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She also offers individual therapy for anxiety, therapy for depression, therapy for stress management, and therapy for sexual and gender expression challenges. 

Significantly, Pierre-Smith provides mental health workshops and makes guest appearances in the media as a Black mental health expert. Individual and corporate clients who work with Pierre-Smith report increased awareness for the impact of Racism Based Stress on wellness, and increased confidence to promote employee mental health practices that are trauma informed in the workplace.

Pierre-Smith has a wide range of leadership, clinical, and workshop facilitation skills. For instance, she contributed to mental health workshop events for brands/companies such as Essence, was the Director of a Children and Youth behavioral health agency, and provided specialized individual therapy and group therapy to boys and men who have been adjudicated due to a history of problematic sexual behaviors or sexual violence.

In terms of her background, Pierre-Smith attended universities in Jamaica and America. She also completed trainings in Clinical Supervision and Transgender Education at Temple University. Outside of clinical practice, Pierre-Smith offers clinical supervision for the PA State Board licensing, and enjoys helping licensed social workers or those with ambition to become a Licensed Professional Counselor over overcome Imposter Syndrome.