Zach Smart

Advanced Clinical Intern

he/they

Zach is a second-year MSW candidate at the Columbia School of Social Work. Their approach to therapy is flexible and person-centered, drawing on elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Internal Family Systems.

Zach is deeply committed to strengths based practice – recognizing and celebrating the unique experiences and skills that have helped each client get to where they are today, and together working towards greater self-compassion and self-understanding. Zach’s approach to therapy is grounded in the knowledge that all parts of ourselves are good and deeply worthy. Through exploring what our current patterns and emotions are actually doing for us, we can both honor them and begin to develop new life-affirming skills, relationships, and resilience.

As a social worker, Zach has experience supporting LGBTQIA+ adults and adolescents with depression, anxiety, relationship distress, housing insecurity, legal system involvement, loss and grief. Raised in the orthodox Jewish community, Zach is especially passionate about helping queer clients find and reclaim spiritual strength, worthiness, and belonging. In all therapy sessions, they strive to create a collaborative space for processing difficult experiences while building towards greater capacity for joy, wholeheartedness, safe and sustaining relationships, and life worth living.

Prior to beginning their social work education, Zach received a B.A. from Princeton University, and worked for several years at Haley House, a commune and soup kitchen in Boston.