Sugar Maple Counseling and Ecotherapy

04/22/2026

Losing your mom changes everything.

Then Mother’s Day shows up... 🥀

If that day feels heavy, complicated, or just not quite right (that it just stinks), you're not alone. This will be my sixteenth Mother's Day without my mom, fourth as a mom, and I know how many different feelings can come with it.

I'm Valerie Smith, LCSW, a grief therapist who focuses on loss, attachment wounds, and continuing bonds. Join me in a sacred and supportive space where we can slow down and hold this time together in the lead-up to Mother’s Day. 🩷

Because it's not just about missing your mom.

It's also about the quiet (or not-so-quiet) pressure to feel a certain way, especially if you're a mother yourself.

Maybe you're feeling sad.

Maybe you're holding it together.

Maybe it's both.

Either way, it can feel like you're supposed to show up in a way that doesn't fully fit.

This workshop is about giving yourself permission to experience the day in your own way.

The Motherless Moms Workshop is a virtual, creative grief event for all motherless mothers. That might mean:

• You've lost your mom or someone who felt like a mother to you.

• Your mom is alive, but the relationship is distant, strained, or painful.

• You grew up without a mom.

• "Motherless" just feels like it fits your experience.

However you understand it, there’s a place for you here.

What we’ll do together:

• Talk about how storytelling can help you process grief.

• Share your story through writing a storybook.

• Peer support and an opportunity to share (but you don't have to talk!).

All you need is yourself, a computer, and a reliable internet connection.

If Mother's Day has ever made you feel like you're getting it "wrong," you're not. And this space is for you. 🩷

04/22/2026

You don’t have to keep carrying something that feels “stuck.”
Even when you’ve talked about it, understood it, or tried to move on — your nervous system may still be holding onto the experience.
EMDR is a gentle, body-informed approach that helps process what hasn’t fully settled, without forcing you to relive everything in detail.
This work is paced, supported, and collaborative.
If this resonates, you’re welcome to reach out or simply take a moment to notice what your body might be holding today 🌿
📍 Telehealth across New York State
Insurance & lower-fee options available

03/01/2026

We are honored to be included in the Natural Awakenings 2026 Wellness Dream Team Profiles, a collection of trusted local practitioners and specialists who share a commitment to proactive, integrative, and whole-person healing.

This directory highlights providers whose work supports individuals in reclaiming agency over their own well-being through education, depth-oriented care, and collaborative, synergistic approaches.

At Sugar Maple Counseling and Ecotherapy, we deeply resonate with this mission. Our work is not about quick fixes or symptom suppression, but about helping clients reconnect with meaning, resilience, and a sense of inner direction.
Whether working individually or alongside other holistic providers, the goal is to support lasting transformation — adding not only years to life, but life to those years.

Being featured in this directory reflects our ongoing dedication to compassionate, trauma-informed, and integrative care for grief, complex trauma, and emotional healing at the roots.

02/06/2026

When you’ve lived through trauma,
it can feel like parts of you went missing —
or like you never had the chance to fully become who you’re meant to be.

You may have done whatever it took to survive:
shutting down, staying quiet, trying to be invisible,
or carrying the weight of everyone else’s needs.

But survival isn’t the same as living.
And healing isn’t just about feeling better —
it’s about reconnecting with yourself.

Trauma therapy helps you move from just getting by
to truly being you — more whole, more grounded,
and more in charge of your life.

Trauma, especially ongoing or childhood trauma,
can shape how you see yourself and the world.
You may have learned beliefs like:
“I’m not safe.”
“Something’s wrong with me.”
“I have to be perfect to be loved.”

Over time, these beliefs can feel like who you are —
even when they aren’t true.

Therapy doesn’t erase the past.
It helps you make sense of it, reconnect with the parts of you
that had to stay strong or hidden,
and reclaim choice, voice, and self-trust.

Healing is often quiet.
It can look like setting a boundary.
Feeling instead of shutting down.
Saying, “This is what I need.”
Trusting yourself again.

This is what healing can look like —
and it is possible for you 🤍

01/30/2026

"...A study that shows that in doctoral psychology programs in the US, only 8% of them require training in trauma - trauma! - not
dissociation. And that's a recent study. So, what that means is the vast majority of us out here have not had systematic evidence-based training in dissociation.
..These are the folks who have been most chronically, severely
abused... with all that psychiatric comorbidity, these folks get diagnosed with depression and eating disorders, often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and the underlying dissociative disorder is often not recognized, not noticed for 6 to 12 years after the person's been already in the mental health system. And so, during that time, hopefully, treatment's helping somewhat, but it's not getting at some of the underlying conflicts and fragmentation of the self and severe
lack of grounding that may be occurring." - Bethany Brand, PhD

Send a message to learn more

01/20/2026

Dear Mom and Dad,

I speak to you as though you are still here, because in many ways, you are. You live on in my memories, in the paths I choose, and in the parts of me that will always bear your influence. I miss you every single day... in the quiet, in the noise, in joy, and in the moments that pass unnoticed by everyone else.

I miss you as you were meant to be. I grieve the life you should have had, the years that were lost, and the ordinary days we were never granted. I carry the weight of everything you never got to witness, and that longing has never truly faded.

You never had the chance to meet your grandson. I wish you could have held him, laughed with him, and seen the world anew through his eyes. I know how deeply you would have loved him. I picture you watching him run, listening to his endless questions, and quietly passing on your wisdom in your own gentle way.

Mom, you never got to see the woman I became: the person who rebuilt herself after her world shattered, who escaped domestic violence, survived homelessness, and still managed to graduate summa cm laude from both college and graduate school. You didn't get to see me heal, rediscover my strength, or meet Will.

Mom and Dad, you also never saw me become a woman entrepreneur and build something meaningful of my own, something successful. You didn't see me buy a beautiful home, create a place filled with warmth and stability, or finally live my dream of being surrounded by the woods.

Most of all, you never got to see me become a mother. You never got to be grandparents. And I ache for that... for you to see how I love my child, the patience I practice, the tenderness I carry, and the strength I show for him every day. I like to believe that, somehow, somewhere, you are proud of me.

I miss you. I carry you with me always. And I hope, in whatever way is possible, you know just how deeply you are still loved.

Send a message to learn more

01/07/2026

Grief can feel like unfamiliar terrain -- you don’t yet have a map. These archetypes are patterns, not personalities, and may shift over time. Notice what speaks to you and leave the rest. 💛

Learn more at www.SugarMapleCounseling.com where you can work with a certified grief therapist.

01/06/2026

On everything you've ever wondered about the inner workings of being a grief and trauma therapist.

Valerie Smith, a licensed grief and trauma therapist, shares her career journey into specializing in complicated grief and developmental trauma. She explains...

11/12/2025

10/28/2025

What is Induced After Death Communication (IADC) Therapy and how do I utilize it as a therapist? Learn here.

If you have an interesting job and would like to be a guest on the show, email me at talesfromtheshiftpodcast@gmail.comValerie Smith, a licensed grief and tr...

10/25/2025

Hello everyone,

We are excited to be co-facilitating a series of holiday grief support workshops this season. With four sessions offered, we hope to create space for as many people as possible to come together, reflect, and find comfort. Please feel free to share with anyone who might need a little extra support and understanding this time of year.

✨ What to Expect at the Holiday Grief Support Workshop ✨
🔹 Gentle Guidance: Learn how to navigate the emotional ups and downs of the holiday season after loss.

🔹 Coping Tools: Explore simple, meaningful practices to manage triggers, create new traditions, and care for yourself.

🔹 Shared Understanding: Connect with others who "get it" in a compassionate, judgment-free space.

🔹 Emotional Education: Gain insight into how grief affects the body and mind, and how to move through it with grace.

🔹 Moments of Reflection: Take time to honor your loved one and rediscover small moments of peace this season.

10/16/2025

It was an honor to share the stage with such an inspiring group of mothers and entrepreneurial women who are redefining what work-life balance can look like and offering effective, smart strategies! Thank you, Alexa Starks, for organizing this event. Thank you, Meghan Miller, PsyD, LP, Jeannie Frances Stumne, MS, and Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, PMH-C, for your insight.

You can view the roundtable discussion here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/mentalhealth-parenthood-andthef7376679171059720192/theater/