Burnout and low trust are costing you your best people. We fix the conditions behind them.

SMILE is an award-winning, clinician-led consulting firm helping organizations resolve conflict, develop people leaders, prevent burnout, and adopt AI with trust.

SMILE has supported more than 500,000 employees and leaders. Trusted for over a decade by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofits.

The Problem

You can feel it before you can measure it.

Managers are stretched thin. People stop speaking up in meetings. Good employees leave, and the exit survey says “better opportunity.” By the time it shows up in turnover and missed goals, the cost is already in the business.

The cost is already in the business.

Workplace culture affects retention, capacity, and performance.

$2 trillion

in estimated annual U.S. productivity lost to disengagement (Gallup, 2025)

68%

of U.S. employee exits grouped under engagement and culture or wellbeing and work-life balance (Gallup, 2024 data)

Around 200%

of annual salary to replace a leader or manager (Gallup, 2024)

AI-created illustration of Christi Venable guiding organizational leaders through a workplace strategy consultation

Why SMILE

Clinical depth. Organizational strategy. One partner.

Most culture consultants understand organizations. Most therapists understand people. SMILE brings both into the room.

Led by licensed counselor Christi Venable, our team combines clinical expertise with leadership development and organizational strategy. We help you understand what is driving the problem and build a plan your leaders can put into action.

Solutions and the SMILE Method

Three ways we strengthen your organization.

Workplace Culture and Transformation

Build psychological safety, prevent burnout, repair trust, and guide organizational change so your people and your business can thrive.

AI-created illustration of Christi Venable leading a professional development training

Leadership and Team Development

Equip leaders to communicate clearly, hold teams accountable, and protect their own capacity.

Colleagues participating in a supportive workplace wellness check-in

AI Strategy and Workforce Capacity

Strengthen workforce capacity through human-first AI strategy, AI policy creation, workflow automations, and practical team training.

Refreshing SMILE

Support that stays with your people.

Refreshing SMILE wellness app shown on a smartphone

Bring wellness and people leadership into everyday work with the Refreshing SMILE On-Demand Wellness and Leadership Portal and App.

  • Learn anytime: 24/7 access to 50+ mini wellness and leadership training videos.
  • Make it yours: Customize the experience around your organization’s goals and employee needs.
  • Connect with support: Access to therapists and coaches through your organization’s program.
  • Keep people engaged: Wellness challenges that encourage participation and healthy habits.
Talk With Us About the AppExplore the Portal & App

Meet the Founder

Christi Venable, MA, NCC, LPC, LCPC

A licensed professional counselor, corporate wellness strategist, AI consultant, and keynote speaker, Christi helps leaders strengthen workplace culture, restore capacity, and lead change with trust and intention.

Impact at a glance

Built SMILE into an Inc. 5000 company recognized for two consecutive years.

Led workplace wellness and leadership solutions reaching over 500,000 employees and leaders.

Named SBA’s 2020 Washington, DC Small Business Person of the Year and a 2022 Enterprising Women of the Year honoree.

Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach bringing clinical expertise to leadership and organizational strategy.

Christi Venable, founder of SMILE Therapy Services

The SMILE Method

A clear process from insight to action.

1. Assess

We listen to your employees and use our Refreshing SMILE Workplace Culture Assessment alongside selected culture and leadership instruments to identify priorities for trust, wellbeing, and performance.

2. Build

You receive clear findings, prioritized recommendations, and a strategic plan grounded in your data. Together, we define the actions, responsibilities, and measures that guide implementation.

3. Transform

We implement, support your leaders, and measure what changes, including psychological safety, engagement, and turnover intention.

Ways to Work With Us

Start where you are.

In 30 minutes, we’ll discuss your workforce challenges, identify your priorities, and recommend a practical starting point.

Keynotes and Workshops

A high-impact starting point for conferences, leadership retreats, and all-staff events.

Assessment and Strategy

An employee assessment, detailed findings report, and strategic plan your leadership team can put into action.

Annual Partnership

Year-round consulting, training, employee support, and progress measurement.

Your Starting Point

How healthy is your workplace, really?

Take the free workplace self-check for an initial snapshot based on your perspective. Identify areas worth exploring with your team, then talk with us about an organization-wide assessment and action plan.

Proof

What our clients experience.

Smile Therapy Services is a wonderful, dedicated group of professionals “who gets it”. Our employees are challenged, like so many other agencies, with the influx of daily encounters in life which affects the workplace. Smile Therapy Services is the reprieve that our employees needed to assist them in finding better solutions during trying times. Whether the interaction was virtual with hundreds of participants or a small in-person setting with a few staff, their professional interventions improved each situation. Smile Therapy Services was the best discovery for me, and I will continue to partner with them for future wellness needs.

Montii Osei-Djan
DC Department of Motor Vehicles

I had the pleasure of working with Smile Therapy, through Microsoft’s mental health initiatives, where their leadership and commitment to culturally relevant care made a profound impact. Christi and her team played a critical role in supporting marginalized employee resource groups such as Black@Microsoft and Asians@Microsoft, especially during times when finding culturally aligned mental health support was both urgent and challenging. SMILE’s dedication to creating access to care that resonates with people’s lived experiences is unmatched. Any organization or partner looking to make a tangible, human-centered impact in mental health would be fortunate to work with them.

Celeste Harrington
Global Health and Wellbeing Leader

I am so excited about the work and impact SMILE has had on Urban Teachers. SMILE has hosted workshops and conducted meaningful therapy sessions for our first-year teachers who found themselves navigating the classroom amidst a world-changing pandemic, enduring both professionally and personally centered challenges and in need of resources that spoke authentically to them. Additionally, SMILE has worked to provide resources for teachers in crisis, and this has greatly filled a need within our realm of support that enables us to empower our teachers. I cannot state enough how grateful we are to partner with SMILE.

Massawa Stevens-Morrison
Director of Resident Experience, Urban Teachers

The safe, professional spaces SMILE Therapy Services creates has been such a benefit to our wellness programs and has made our virtual offerings a success during a very trying, stressful year for all.

Catherine Miller
D.C. Government Client Success Manager

About

Creating Healthy Workplaces.

One Company At A Time.

Connect With Us

Contact

650 I Street NE

Washington, DC 20003

(240) 324-6524