Ann W. Smith

Ann W. Smith, MS, LMFT, LPC, NCC is a therapist, author and teacher of life lessons.
Career
For the past 30 years, Ann has focused on addiction, family systems and experiential therapy. She is known for her “clear and entertaining teaching style, delivering valuable information on a variety of personal growth topics”. Ann has lectured and taught workshops nationally and internationally on topics such as addiction in the family to dysfunctional relationships. She has presented at conferences with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Alcohol and Drug Problems Association, U.S. Journal, Onsite, International Transpersonal Association, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic Training Institute, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies, and several others.
Ann is known as “a pioneer of codependency treatment”, developing a residential treatment program for adults from dysfunctional family situations. Initially, Ann started the program at the Caron Foundation, a drug rehabilitation facility in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Then known as Caron’s Family Program, the program helped and educated families of individuals in rehab. The program’s reputation of being “unique, experiential, and more extensive” began attracting a new audience: adult children of alcoholics, whose lives had been damaged by the problems they experienced growing up in alcoholic families.
From 1984-1991, Ann and her staff expanded on Caron’s Family Program and helped over 14,000 people. The program was among the first in the country to focus on the effects on the family system when living with an addicted individual and how these families may have been hurt as a result of their loved one’s addiction.
Ann left Caron in 1990 to pursue her own goals and in 1991, she developed the Breakthrough program, which addressed the needs of individuals with recurring problematic behavior patterns. The program used role play and active participation to uncover the source of each participant’s dysfunction, thus addressing and releasing emotional trauma left over from childhood. Participants learned to “break through” old dysfunctional patterns and move to a new level of personal growth.
Ann hosted her Breakthrough Healthy Living workshops one week per month at Harmony Farm in Parkton, Maryland. She also founded her own private practice in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In 2008, nearly 25 years after Ann started the residential codependency program at Caron, she was asked to return to revitalize the program and bring her Breakthrough Healthy Living workshops with her. In April 2009, Ann re-opened her program in a refurbished 19th Century mansion adjacent to Caron’s campus in Pennsylvania. Now called “Breakthrough at Caron,” the program currently runs weekly with a full staff of therapists.
Ann is certified by the National Board of Certified Counselors and a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Education and Licenses
* M.S., Rehabilitation Counseling - University of Scranton, 1978
* B.A., Elementary Education - Marywood College, 1972
* Certified Addictions Counselor in PA (1980-2002)
* Two-year Family Therapy Training Program - Temple University, 1998
* Post-Graduate Course: “Legal and Ethical Issues” - University of Phoenix, 1999
* Licensed Professional Counselor, Pennsylvania #2045
* Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Pennsylvania #112
Published books
* Grandchildren of Alcoholics: another Generation of Co-dependency - 1990, Health Communications - Deerfield Beach, FL
* Overcoming Perfectionism: The Key to a Balanced Recovery - 1987, Health Communications, Deerfield Beach, FL
In the Media
Ann has been interviewed by Newsweek, Us Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Philadelphia Magazine, The Washington Post, Nightline on ABC, and several other media outlets across the U.S. She has also provided technical assistance for two major films and Dateline on NBC.

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