In today's episode, I sit down with Cerrita Smith, a therapist with over a decade of experience supporting adoptees and their families across the NHS, children’s services, and private practice. We explore what she’s learned about identity, attachment, and complex trauma, how therapy can support adoptees and their families, the role social workers play throughout the adoption journey, and so much more. 

About Cerrita

Cerrita Smithis an Organisational Consultant, Music and EMDR Therapist, Lecturer, and Clinical Supervisor.  She holds a Bachelor of Music, BA, from Cardiff University, a Masters of Arts in Music Therapy from Guildhall School of Music, and an MA in Business Consultancy and Leadership from the Tavistock and Portman.

Since qualifying as a Therapist more than 13 years ago, she has worked across a broad range of clinical settings supporting individuals across the life span, including in NHS Adult Psychiatry and Addictions service lines and with children and their families in the public sector, charitable sector, and in her private practice. She has a special interest in the fields of Complex Trauma, Mental Health, and Adoption.

Cerrita now divides her clinical work between adult psychiatry in the NHS, and in private practice with Children and Adults who have experienced complex trauma.

Between 2017 – 2018 she established and delivered an international development project in Rwanda, East Africa, in collaboration with Music as Therapy International. The project supported local teachers and community leaders to use music to support educational and psychological development of young people within the community. Whilst working in Rwanda she developed a number of community psychoeducational and music services to support parents and families who were survivors of the Rwandan genocide.

Cerrita has written for a number academic and professional publications. She has  spoken at national and international conferences; has been an invited speaker on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Berkshire; and is a visiting lecturer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she leads Music Therapy Outreach service. She is the founder of Cync, an organisation providing Therapy, Business consultancy and Coaching to organisations and individuals. Cync has a strong ethos of nurturing community and widening access to therapy, and delivers a number of low cost and free therapy to underserved, global majority, and minoritised communities.

In her Business consulting and coaching work she brings her wealth of experience from Therapy into her work with organisations and is renowned for guiding organisations and individuals to work in depth when negotiating complex transition and change. She has worked across Arts Industry, Education, Fashion Industry, Public Health, Charitable, Higher Education and the Corporate sectors with executive leaders and wider organisations to support change.

Cerrita is interested in empowering individuals in therapy and beyond. She runs a range of community outreach projects aimed at increasing awareness and understand of Therapy. She is excited to begin a therapy outreach project exploring ‘modern masculinity’ with secondary school boys in KS3 in South London.