Allashia Smith-Harris

Allashia, affectionately known as Allie, is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor with Diagnostic Privilege and an Advanced Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. Allashia received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from Mercy College, where she served as the first mental health counselor-adjunct in the Mental Health Counseling Graduate Program at Mercy College, now known as Mercy University. Allashia is a doctoral candidate in Human Services, specializing in Leadership and Organizational Management.

Allashia is an experienced healthcare professional having served more than 20 years across the healthcare spectrum.  Allashia has trained numerous clinicians and program leaders in community mental health, helping to develop a workforce of providers that are person-centered, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, equitable, respectful, and integral.  

Allashia is a sought-after private practitioner, motivational speaker, mentor, and self-published author (Hidden: Mental Illness Hides Out in the Church, a resource for Black churches to identify and manage mental illness in their congregations).  Her clinical interests are guided by an extensive history with the Black church, a passion for helping marginalized communities, centering the voice of people with lived experience, and combating stigma to help others become their healthiest and best version of themselves. 

Allashia is the founder of Becoming A Better Me, LLC., a wellness center that provides counseling services, workshop/training facilitation, consultations, and clinical supervision to Becoming practitioners. Allashia also leads a training institute for New York State, overseeing the training, technical assistance, support, and consultations provided to more than 130 Assertive Community Treatment teams, training more than 1000 mental health providers throughout the state. Allie serves as a member of the leadership team with the Center for Practice Innovations at New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University.

Lastly, Allie is licensed clergy in the Church of God in Christ, serving alongside her husband as servant leaders of the Unity Temple COGIC-Brooklyn, NY. She is a proud Soror of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and her greatest joy is found in family; she is a proud wife and mother to two beautiful girls.