Joanna Smith, MS

Counseling and Psychotherapy emphasizing an active approach to help you change the way you think and develop new behaviors to make your life more satisfying.

Houston Galveston Institute ( formerly the Galveston Family Institute ), is internationally recognized for its innovative contributions to the advancements of theory, psychotherapy practice, and research, and to the development of creative contexts for learning, practice, and research. It has distinguished itself by its unique developments in brief therapy and has been acclaimed for its Collaborative Language Systems Approach with its emphasis on "problem-organizing systems", the role of language, narrative and conversation in therapy, the not-knowing position, and the translation of these concepts into work with difficult life situations. Students and professionals world-wide come to study at the Institute. The Institute, a private, non-profit organization, was founded in 1977 to meet the demand for mental health professionals seeking to increase their understanding of families and their skills in systems-oriented therapy with individuals, couples, families, and groups. The Institute formalized the research effort pioneered in Galveston with Multiple Impact Therapy in 1954 at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, one of the earliest federally funded family therapy projects in the United States. Harlene Anderson, Ph.D., Paul Dell, Ph.D., Harold Goolishian, Ph.D., and George Pulliam, M.S.W founded the Institute. We live and work in a complicated, rapidly changing social, political, and economic world. This contemporary society requires that we both understand and approach these complexities in a manner that reflects these changes. The Institute endeavors to reflect critically on these changes and the relevance they have to people's everyday lives. Toward this end the Institute aims to develop innovations in mental health theory and practice and to promote a respectful, collaborative partnership between the learner and the teacher and between the therapist and the client improving the quality and integrity of the education of mental health professionals and the services they provide. The Institute tailors learning activities to students' and professionals' individual needs and work settings. Training programs are based on a collaborative, personalized model in which participation and curiosity are encouraged and in which the trainee's expertise and ideas are respected. In this learning partnership, exchange among faculty and learner is highly encouraged. The Institute regards people as possessing the strengths and expertise to manage their personal and professional lives in a healthy productive manner. Everyone faces problems as they go through life. A problem, whether a major issue or a minor concern can make life difficult. We work with people in a respectful, cooperative partnership model to help them access their own natural resources and competencies and to develop unique ways to address their concerns and solve their problems.