About
Dr. David Paul Smith
Clinical Psychologist · Founder of Integrative Psyche Services
A whole-person practice
Dr. Smith is a clinical psychologist, certified in hypnotherapy and neurofeedback, who lives and practices in Chicago. He completed a Master of Arts in the Social Sciences with a psychological-anthropology study of traditional Native American healing, did graduate work in the Divinity School, and earned his master's and his PhD in the Committee on Comparative Human Development in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. His dissertation studied the spirituality and religiosity of an international sample of psychotherapists.
He is president and CEO of Integrative Psyche Services, S.C., a practice built around a holistic approach to mental health and a person-centered approach to health psychology. He consults at several hospitals in the Chicago area, providing behavioral and psychopharmacological support, predominantly in the Behavioral Health department at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, and has worked as a therapist and psychodiagnostician in nursing homes and at Beacon Therapeutic Schools, working with the mental health issues of students from elementary school through high school.
He maintains a private psychotherapy practice Wednesday through Friday in Lincoln Square, and a small part of his practice involves forensic psychology.
Working with you
Dr. Smith has worked in the field of mental health for almost 40 years, including the past 20 as a clinical psychologist in Illinois. In the Chicago area he has worked in hospitals, taught at universities, provided clinical supervision to students, and maintained a private practice.
He works with children, adults, and the elderly, providing psychotherapy and psychological testing and assessment. His approach to therapy is integrative, and he likes to work with patients on practical strategies to improve their lives. Once particular problems are addressed, attending to life’s meaning and personal potential is always important.
His academic training is in depth psychology, and he finds it important to work with people to understand their personal history and its repercussions on the present. His philosophy is person-centered: people must find their place in the world according to their own talents and inclinations. His research informs his work, and he is an advocate of self-regulation, such as meditation and clinical hypnosis.
Teaching and scholarship
Dr. Smith is a part-time faculty member in the Saybrook University College of Mind-Body Medicine, where he has taught for the Certificate in Clinical Hypnosis and on the Certificate in Advanced Studies of Consciousness. He has run workshops internationally and taught at Christ University in Bangalore, India, has participated on graduate committees in India and Canada, and continues to present at conferences internationally each year.
He has a background in psychological anthropology and ethnographic work in North America. He is a certified consultant in hypnosis through the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH ACE) and a member of the Forge Guild, an organization of academic, religious, and health professionals dedicated to exploring and promoting healthy spirituality.
He is the editor of the International Journal of Traditional Healing and Critical Mental Health, and he continues to contribute to research on mind-body medicine, consciousness studies, and traditional healing. He has presented professional workshops in hypnosis, creativity, and spirituality in the UK and India.
Education
University of Chicago
PhD, Committee on Human Development / Mental Health Research, Department of Psychology. Dissertation: “Patterns of Religious Experience Among Psychotherapists and Their Relation to Therapeutic Orientation.” (1998)
- MA – Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences. Thesis: “A Contemporary Psychoanalytic Interpretation of an Ojibwa Sweatlodge.” (1989)
- Additional master’s thesis, Religion and Psychological Studies, Divinity School: “Essay on Religious Studies in the Modern World.” (1990)
- Additional master’s thesis, Committee on Human Development / Committee on Mental Health: “The Meanings and Importance of Religious Experience: A Comparison of Mental Health Professionals and Others.” (1996)
Illinois School of Professional Psychology
Post-Doctoral Psychopharmacology Certification Program, Chicago, IL. Coursework completed; certification not completed.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
BA, Cum Laude. Individual Concentration and Honors Program, with a self-designed major in Psychology and Spiritual Development.
- Graduate-level training in Applied Behavioral Analysis, Department of Psychology. (1983–1984)
See the full curriculum vitae for a complete record of education, licensure, teaching, publications, and clinical work.
Begin with a conversation
If you are considering therapy, an initial consultation is a calm, no-pressure way to talk through what you are looking for and whether this practice is the right fit.