The more we can connect with our true self, the more we can find peace, joy, and fulfillment in life.

– Richard Schwartz

Julie Anderson Smith, MA, MFTC

I’m Julie Anderson Smith (she/her), MA, MFTC, a Marriage and Family Therapist Candidate and IFS Coach. I hold a BA in Psychology and Leadership Studies and an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy, with 17 years of experience supporting individuals in growth, resilience, and self-awareness. At Ancient Sage, I specialize in affirming LGBTQIA+ identities and practicing from an anti-racism lens.

As a therapist, I work in person and virtually with individuals, couples, and families using a compassionate, client-centered approach. I am Level 1 and Level 2 trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) through the IFS Institute and have served as a Program Assistant for multiple IFS trainings. My therapy services include assessment, treatment planning, and support for emotional and relational challenges. 

I’m also joined in the office by my certified therapy dog, River, a gentle Golden Retriever who offers calm and connection during in-person sessions.

Separately, as an IFS Coach, I work virtually with therapists and helping professionals worldwide who want to deepen their own inner work. Coaching is not psychotherapy; instead, it provides a structured, supportive space for self-discovery and integration using the IFS model.

My background in both therapy and coaching allows me to support people at different points in their personal and professional journeys, always with the goal of fostering greater clarity, self-compassion, and lasting change.

Discover more about my practitioner profile at the IFS Institute.

Let’s begin this process together.

The cry we hear from deep in our hearts, comes from the wounded child within. Healing this inner child's pain is the key to transforming anger, sadness, and fear.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Inspirational Quotes

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known.

Brené Brown

To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others. 

David Whyte

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

Barrack Obama

It's a journey, and we all have a role to play.

Andrea Jenkins

Wild sings the bird of the heart in the forests of our lives.

Mary Oliver

The Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves.

Thich Nhat Hanh

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable and beautiful and afraid of nothing as though I had wings. 

Mary Oliver

Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we'll ever do.

Brené Brown

I'm telling the world who I am so that I never get the chance to forget.

Halsey

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.

Desmond Tutu

Let's connect and get started!