Lee is the Founder and Clinical Director of Cornerstone and has been counseling since 2006. A native of the Mississippi Delta, he attended Delta State University and later Mississippi College where he received his M.S. in Counseling Psychology. He is a nationally board certified, Licensed Professional Counselor. When it comes to his career, Lee has had a very diverse background spending over ten years in sales and management in both the wireless and pharmaceutical industries. Lee later served on staff at Pinelake Church for a number of years.

Since being in private practice, Lee has worked with adolescents, families, marriages and individuals addressing a variety of topics. He specializes in marriage and family dynamics, anxiety and depression and working with those who serve in the ministry. In addition to his work in private practice, Lee is a sought after speaker at churches, retreats and events.

He believes that change in a person occurs in the context of relationships and vulnerability. Being fully known, fully accepted and being reminded of the life-changing truth of the Gospel is what continues to profoundly impact Lee’s life. He loves spending time with his wife, his three children, and his family and friends. He also enjoys spending time in the outdoors, drinking a great cup of coffee and listening to a wide range of music.

Pastor Reviews:

"I have tremendous confidence in Lee, not just as a counselor, but also as a friend and a man after God’s heart. At Pinelake, we define ministry as “what you leave behind you as you follow Christ.”Having served alongside Lee for over a decade, I have witnessed many lives touched by the wake of his walk with Jesus. In addition, Lee’s unique gifting, compassion and ability to speak hard truth in love gives me great confidence anytime I refer people to him."

Chip Henderson, Senior Pastor at Pinelake Church

"Lee Smith gets it. The needs of people are not just psychological but holistic. Here at Venture Church, he has created opportunities for healing through individual counseling, a referral plan for family counseling and has been on the ground floor of helping build out our Recovery Ministry. We are thankful and blessed to work alongside him."

Jeff Clark, Senior Pastor at Venture Church (Hattiesburg)

Hello and welcome! I’m so glad you’re here, considering the next step in your journey toward healing. My aim is to provide a quiet, supportive space where you can safely explore your thoughts, emotions, and life experiences. Each of us has an origin story, old wounds that still hurt, and sometimes a gap between the life we have and the life we imagined. I won’t be one to tell you to “move on” or “just get over it”—instead, I’ll walk with you, gently tend to those wounds, and guide you to live in that beautiful intersection of grace and truth.

Have you experienced the loss of a family member, gone through a divorce, or navigated an abusive relationship? Or maybe you’re recovering from spiritual wounds, manipulation, or the effects of growing up with a parent who faced mental health challenges? None of us is born with all the skills and wisdom needed to heal from these kinds of experiences. That’s where the right support, understanding, and guidance can make a profound difference.

I have been married to my wife, Larke, for 40 years. We have four grown kids and six grandkids. I love spending time with my family and experiencing the blessings they all bring to my life. I have been in vocational ministry for fifty years, serving as a pastor, worship leader, and youth pastor. In addition to doing counseling, I am a professional songwriter and published author. I love playing golf and fishing (notice I didn’t say catching!) I read novels by John Grisham, Dean Koontz, and many Christian authors. Of course, the Bible is my favorite book to read.
Whatever brings you to this step, I’m ready to walk alongside you. Grace, truth, healing, and peace await us on this journey!

Mary Clayton Dunn is a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2012, with roots in- and love for- the Hattiesburg community. Born and raised in Hattiesburg, she graduated from Mississippi State University with a B.A. in Psychology before completing a Master of Arts in Counseling degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. She has worked as a family therapist in an inpatient addictions treatment center, has facilitated intensive workshops for both couples and individuals, and has also been in an outpatient private practice setting where she has worked with adolescents and teens, adults, couples, and families to help navigate a path forward through their concerns, struggles, goals, and hopes. In every therapeutic relationship she establishes, Mary Clayton seeks to help her clients achieve hope for the future and meaningful connection with others, regardless of their presenting problem. Mary Clayton considers it a privilege to be present with others in their struggles and to help guide and support clients to achieve their personal, relational, and mental health goals.

A formative experience in Mary Clayton’s life is her many years working - first as a young adult and now currently serving as a consultant each summer - at a residential Christian summer camp, where she first identified her desire to become a counselor. Her passions for meaningful relationships, faith in Christ, and living life abundantly all came together to help her form a therapeutic framework for her present counseling work that emphasizes connection with others, honest self-reflection, and hard work as she helps clients formulate a treatment plan using a variety of theories and modalities to address their concerns and goals. She helps clients utilize the tools they have, sharpen the ones that have become dull, and discover/develop those that will be useful moving forward.

Mary Clayton’s greatest joy and hobby is her family. She, her husband, and their four children can all be found listening to music loudly or on a sports field most of the time. If she’s ever not there, Mary Clayton loves to learn, read, cheer for Mississippi State athletics, and be outdoors.

Stephanie is the Director of Administration and has enjoyed being a part of the Cornerstone family since 2018. Her professional journey includes working for 23 years in the behavioral healthcare field primarily in outreach and crisis intervention with Memorial Behavioral Health, Pine Grove, and Three Oaks Behavioral Health. For approximately 17 of those years, she was licensed as a marriage and family therapist. She also served as a DivorceCare facilitator and coordinator for almost 7 years, initially at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg and later at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison.

In 2011, she felt led to step away from the mental health field to devote more time and energy to her young family and community involvement. It was a great opportunity to recharge. By the spring of 2018, Stephanie was thrilled to join Cornerstone Counseling in an administrative capacity serving referrals and clients throughout the intake process. Over the years, her role has expanded to overseeing our administrative team. She also provides onboarding and recredentialing support to our clinical team.

Outside of the office, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband and adult son. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis and pickleball, cooking, and entertaining in her home.

Training:
B.S. Social Rehabilitation Services, The University of Southern Mississippi
M.S. Family Life Studies with emphasis in Family Relations, The University of Southern Mississippi