About Us
Dr. Sue McKenna
Dr. McKenna is a licensed clinical psychologist who was raised in Lombard, Illinois. She graduated from University of Illinois in 1989 with a Bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and Sociology. She received her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Arkansas in 1992 and 1995 respectively. Dr. McKenna completed her internship in 1995 at the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium which included rotations at Malcolm Bliss Hospital, Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, St. Louis State Hospital, and Provident Counseling. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in 1996 at St. Louis State Hospital. She worked for a community mental health center in Southwest Missouri for six years before opening a private practice in 2002. She has been in private practice in Northwest Arkansas since April of 2010. Dr. McKenna works with individuals across the lifespan and conducts individual, couples, family, and group therapy, as well as psychological evaluations for diagnostic clarification, cognitive deficits and dementia, attentional deficits, forensic issues, fitness for bariatric surgery, and fitness for spinal cord stimulator trial surgery. She works with people of varying race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, and clinical issue. Throughout her career, Dr. McKenna has gained invaluable experience in the human condition and the will of individuals to overcome tremendous adversity, and she has committed her professional life helping people to find and use the power within themselves to create change.
Professional Interests/Specialties
- Adolescents
- Adults
- Individual Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Couple/Marital Therapy
- Depression and Anxiety Disorders
- Personality Disorders
- Dialectical Behavioral Training (DBT)
- Suicidality and/or Self-Injurious Behaviors
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Survivors of Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Abuse
- Gay/Lesbian/Transgender Issues
- Cognitive/Neuropsychological Evaluations
- Psychological Evaluations
Professional Affiliations
- American Psychological Association
- Psychologists of Northwest Arkansas
"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."
-- Author unknown
"If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it."
-- Mary Engelbreit
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
--Viktor Frankl
Dr. Debbie Smithyman
Dr. Smithyman is a licensed, clinical psychologist who grew up in the beauty and security of the Ozarks. She earned her Doctorate of Psychology at the Florida Institute of Technology’s School of Psychology and completed her internship at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in 1993. She subsequently completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Psychology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She gained tremendous knowledge and experience working at sites including the Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma, Child Study Center, Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Upon returning to the Ozarks in 1995, Dr. Smithyman joined a community mental health center in Springfield, Missouri. She was instrumental in the center’s efforts to improve integrated primary and behavioral healthcare, as well as collaborative community care. She became the Assistant Director of Children’s Services and performed administrative, training, and supervisory duties in addition to providing direct services to both children and adults. Since 2007, Dr. Smithyman has been in private practice and continues to effectively treat individuals, couples, and families.
Professional Interests/Specialties
- Adolescents
- Adults
- Individual Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Couple/Marital Therapy
- Parenting Skills Training
- Behavior Disorders
- Survivors of Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Abuse
- Gay/Lesbian/Transgender Issues
- Adjustment and Life Transitions
- Grief and Loss
- Depression/Anxiety/Mood Disorders
- Self-Esteem/Emotional Well-being
- Stress
- Trauma
Professional Affiliations
- Psychologists of Northwest Arkansas
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."
- Henry David Thoreau
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
- Nelson Mandela
"Your life is what your thoughts make it."
--Marcus Aurelius
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