Dr. Martez Smith, LMSW

04/07/2026

1 in 4 people in the United States lives with a mental health disorder. That means this is not rare. It is your family, your friend, your coworker, your partner, your neighbor, and yes, sometimes you.

In this clip, I use LEGOs to show what so often gets missed. People are carrying pieces you do not see. Pressure. Pain. Trauma. Fear. Grief. Survival. So before you rush to judge somebody’s attitude, response, silence, or struggle, pause.

Lead with kindness.
Practice patience.
Ask one more question.
Listen a little longer.

Radical empathy asks you to look deeper. It asks you to see the human being before the behavior.



Searching For John Doe Podcast

02/19/2026

:-D

02/19/2026

Check out this podcast I filmed last summer with King's Effect Podcast on Black Men and HIV! In this episode, I challenge the belief that Black men are more promiscuous than others and share why disclosure about HIV status should be a shared, stigma-free conversation—not a demand. The host, Daron, offers a counterpoint, and together we explore harm reduction tools like PrEP and condoms as ways to protect physical and emotional well-being. This is a necessary conversation about trust, health, and reclaiming the narrative around HIV in the Black community.

In Season 2, Episode 3 of The King's Effect Podcast, host Daron sits down with Martez Smith, a sexual health scientist, HIV prevention expert, and community ...

02/01/2026

Check out this clip from Searching For John Doe Podcast where I talk about overcoming some communication challenges!

01/01/2026

12/04/2025

A Native Son Conversation: Kalvin Leveille, Dr. Martez Smith, and Steven Claiborne talk candidly about being HIV+, access to care, and the well being of the Black q***r community in the era of cutbacks, healthcare, employment, and housing insecurities;

A Native Son Conversation: Kalvin Leveille, Dr. Martez Smith, and Steven Claiborne talk candidly about being HIV+, access to care, and the wellbeing of the B...

11/18/2025

Western psychiatry has historically labeled Indigenous grief, Black resistance, or immigrant anxiety as pathology rather than responses to oppression. So therapy often educates marginalized people to see their reactions to systemic violence as personal defects, instead of as reasonable responses to racial trauma. In addition, Therapy often teaches people of color to cope with racism instead of confront, resist, or transform it.

A Eurocentric lens says:
• meditate through your oppression
• regulate your trauma
• adjust your thinking
• focus on the self, not the system

This produces “good, manageable clients”—not liberated ones. This turns therapy into an institutional tool designed to maintain the status quo.

In this essential conversation with Dr. Jennifer Mullan, author of Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma, and Politicizing Your Practice, we face a truth long evaded in Eurocentric clinical training:
Therapy is not—and has never been—neutral.

Register here: https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/therapy-is-not-neutral-a-decolonial-invitation-to-remember-relearn-and-resist/

07/10/2025

Looking for Therapy in New York State?

I’m currently accepting new clients for evening sessions and working with the following insurance plans:

🧠 1199 SEIU
🧠 Affinity/Molina (including Medicaid)
🧠 Carelon: HIP, EmblemHealth – Commercial
🧠 CDPHP Magnacare
🧠 First Health Network Magnacare
🧠 Healthfirst (including Medicaid)
🧠 Independent Health (IHA) – Commercial
🧠 Magnacare
💳 Self-pay options are also available

If you’re ready to start your therapy journey, complete our online referral form to reserve a slot:
👉

Comprehensive Counseling LCSW provides online patient referral forms at our offices in New York Ciy, NY. Learn more and call to schedule your appointment today!

04/28/2025

“come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.”

Excerpt from
won’t you celebrate with me
Lucille Clifton

04/25/2025

You've worked your entire life to get to where you are now. Sometimes it feels like the rug is being snatched from under your feet. Don't let that disillusion you and stop your motivation. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.