LCMHC  ·  LPC  ·  NCC  ·  AASECT CST

Hannah Smith, LCMHC, AASECT CST

Neuroaffirming, Queer-Affirming Virtual Therapy

"Compassionately direct, neuroaffirming therapy for queer, kinky, and unconventional humans ready for deeper self-understanding."

Virtual Only Licensed in NC, SC & FL AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
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"You hire me to be on your team as a facilitator of your growth. I speak fluent weird and I am always ready to dive into whatever you have that day. The more curiosity and openness you have coming in, the better and faster you will grow."

Hannah Smith, LCMHC, AASECT CST

Virtual Sessions Only Licensed in NC, SC & FL AASECT Certified
Ideal Clients

Who I Work With

Hannah works best with adults 18 and over who are ready to understand themselves more clearly. This often means exploring sexuality, gender, how their brain works, or what kind of relationships actually fit their real needs. Therapy becomes a space to stop performing for others and start building something that actually fits.

Many clients come in having spent years masking, trying to function inside systems that were never designed for them. Autistic and ADHD adults, queer and questioning people, those navigating non-traditional relationships or exploring kink for the first time. If you have spent time feeling like an outsider to yourself, that is a solid place to start.

Some clients want to understand their sexual needs so they can communicate them honestly with partners. Others are exploring gender or orientation for the first time. Some are exhausted from constantly adapting and need help building a life that matches who they actually are, not who they were told to be.

You do not need to have it figured out before you arrive. Curiosity is the only real requirement. The more open you come in, the further you will go.

You might be a good fit if you are:

Queer or Questioning Autistic or ADHD Masking Exhaustion Kink or ENM Curious Sex and Intimacy Questions Identity Exploration Done Performing Neurodivergent Adult Ready to Understand Yourself
The Experience

What to Expect in a Session

Sessions with Hannah are client-led. She describes her role as facilitator, not authority. You set the direction. She helps you get there, spot patterns you cannot see clearly on your own, and sort through the internal noise along the way.

1

Build Your List

Your first session creates a working list of what you want to explore. That list becomes your roadmap and you can always change it.

2

Check In

Every session starts with what is at the top of your mind. If something came up since last time, that comes first.

3

Facilitated Exploration

The session follows where you need to go. No agenda but yours. Hannah asks questions, spots patterns, and holds space for what comes up.

4

Wrap Up and Next Direction

A brief close at the end. Thought prompts or homework if useful. You leave knowing exactly what you are working on next.

Areas of Focus

Specialties

Virtual therapy for clients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida

Sex Therapy

Individual Psychotherapy

LGBTQ+ Affirming

Kink / BDSM-Inclusive

Neurodivergent Affirming

Women's Issues

Autism Assessment

Polyamory & ENM

AASECT Certified Sex Therapist ACT Foundation Neuroaffirming Practice Gender Affirming

About Hannah

Why I Became a Therapist

I grew up as an unrecognized autistic kid who went through a lot of therapy that did not help. Not because therapy is useless, but because the approach was never built for how my brain works. Understanding people became my main special interest. I spent years studying why people do what they do and how to make sense of experiences that feel complicated or contradictory.

I think of my approach as behavior math. Everything is neutral until we assign meaning to it. People only do things that work on some level, even when those ways are also painful. And everything a person does makes sense in context. My job is to find the missing pieces, make sense of them, and figure out what to do with them. That is usually where the real shift happens.

This, paired with ACT training, means I can pull apart complex experiences and look at what is actually underneath them. Then we figure out what to do about it together. Not what a "normal" person would do. What actually works for you.

Outside the Office

I run tabletop RPG campaigns like Dungeons and Dragons and love collaborative storytelling. I also knit. I have three cats and one very large dog. I take the same approach to play that I take to therapy: show up curious, go where the story leads, and pay attention to what matters.

Identity and Lived Experience

I am autistic, queer, and fem presenting. I use she/they pronouns. I am also kinky, ambiamorous, and non-religious. I am not a neutral observer of the experiences I work with. I share many of them. That shapes how I understand what clients bring in and why I take a genuinely affirming, non-pathologizing approach.

She / They Autistic Queer Kink Community Ambiamorous Non-Religious

Frequently Asked Questions

What is your working style as a therapist?
I am an eclectic therapist, which means I use whatever approach fits the work. My foundation is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. ACT holds that everything is neutral until we assign meaning to it, and that people are always doing something that works on some level, even when it is also hurting them. Sessions combine exploring who you are and how you got here with a behavioral commitment to actions you actually take to move toward what matters. You always choose the destination. I help you navigate and sort through the internal noise.
Will therapy help me become "normal"?
No. And trying to get there would be harmful. For a lot of the people I work with, trying to be normal has meant hiding parts of themselves for years. That leads to burnout, damaged relationships, and poor mental and physical health. What I help with is finding the most authentic and functional version of who you actually are, and then building a life that matches your real needs. The goal is not to fit the world as it is. It is to understand yourself well enough to navigate it on your own terms.
What if I have trouble paying attention or feel like I am too much?
You never need to mask with me. I actively encourage you not to. I want to work with the real you. Whether you talk a lot, move around, prefer to look away, stim, need to process slowly, or have limited verbal energy on a given day, do whatever you need to feel present and comfortable. I have worked with a wide range of ways people experience and process the world. None of them are a problem in our sessions.
How do I know if you are the right therapist for me?
I work best with people who come in genuinely curious about themselves. You do not need to have answers or even clear questions yet. But if you are ready to stop performing and start actually understanding what is going on inside you, we will probably work well together. The clients who get the most out of working with me tend to be people who have felt like outsiders in standard mental health care and are looking for something that actually takes them seriously.
What happens when I first reach out?
The first step is a brief pre-screening consultation. That is where we figure out whether we are a good fit, talk through what you are looking for, and cover practical questions about fees and scheduling. Insurance is a common first question and I am happy to answer that directly. If it feels like a good match, we schedule your first full session and get started building your list.

Client Outcomes

Anonymized · All identifying details have been changed

"An autistic adult in their late 20s came to therapy after years of burnout and a persistent feeling of being one step behind everyone else. They had been told repeatedly to just try harder. Through therapy, they began to understand how their neurotype actually worked, reduced masking in their daily life, and restructured routines and relationships to match their real needs. They described finally feeling like they were living their own life instead of performing someone else's."

Autism Affirming Therapy · Virtual NC

"A queer adult exploring their identity and sexuality for the first time came in unsure whether therapy would actually be safe. They had previously experienced dismissive responses from providers. Within the first few sessions they reported feeling genuinely heard without being redirected or minimized. Over time they developed clearer language for their needs, communicated more honestly with partners, and felt significantly less shame around who they are."

Queer and Kink-Affirming Therapy · Virtual NC/SC

Ready to Work with Hannah?

Neuroaffirming, queer-affirming virtual therapy for adults in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Sessions are client-led, judgment-free, and built around who you actually are.

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Licensed in NC, SC & FL  ·  Virtual Only  ·  AASECT Certified