The ask was simple. Posted in an online networking group for Austin clinicians: “Come sing karaoke, no shop talk required.”

A group of about 12 to 15 therapists from Austin met up to sing, and “theraoke” was born. That core group, which includes Matt Smith Rubio (MSSW ’05), LCSW, now meets monthly to renew themselves and bond with other mental health professionals.

“I have a community,” Smith Rubio said.  “And I’ve got people stepping up for me in a way I never experienced before.”

Twenty years into a career that has included clinical therapy, nonprofit work, volunteer mediation, classroom teaching and now a brand-new private practice, Smith Rubio has built a meaningful career. It just didn’t happen the way he expected.

“I’m a believer that not everything has to happen according to a plan,” he said.

Smith Rubio followed the clinical track at UT Social Work, finished his degree and started working toward his LCSW. Then his career pivoted — more than once. He stepped away from clinical work, got involved with organizations that needed leadership, trained in management because a nonprofit he cared about was falling apart. He got into mediation in 2009 not because he’d mapped out a specialty, but because a mentor told him his conflict resolution skills needed work.

Today, Smith Rubio is a licensed therapist, a certified mediator and a parenting coordinator working with families navigating high-conflict divorce. He trains new mediators for the Austin Dispute Resolution Center, Tarrant County and Texas A&M Law School. He earned his LCSW in 2023 — 18 years after graduating. He also opened his own private practice this year.

His specialty is couples and family conflict, co-parenting and divorce. When he was a student, it was the last thing on his radar.

“If there had been a divorce course, I wouldn’t have taken it,” he recalled.

What he did recall, however, is that UT Social Work didn’t give him a roadmap — it gave him range instead. The clinical coursework grounded his theoretical orientation, something he credits to Nancy Kelly (who taught group interventions and later became his first clinical supervisor) for shaping an approach he still uses today.

Smith Rubio’s social work degree also prepared him for things he didn’t know he’d need. In his career, he’s stepped up inside a struggling organization, written grants, and done the unglamorous infrastructure work that keeps a community running. He now serves on the board of the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus, another music-based community which helps renew his spirit.

“Social work prepared me to be a multi-talented professional,” he said. “I’m grateful for that.”

Earlier this year, Smith Rubio left his position at Jewish Family Service to launch his own private practice. The transition was exciting but disorienting. What steadied him was the group of therapists he met at a karaoke night. Smith Rubio was between offices during his practice launch, but when two theraoke regulars offered their spaces free of charge so he could keep seeing clients, Smith Ruio realized he could rely on his community of karaoke singers.

“Once a social worker, always a social worker,” he said. “Wherever you go, there’s more than one way to be one.”

Interested in joining this group of singers? You’ll find these social workers at Common Interest in Austin. They won’t be talking shop, but supporting each other all the same.

You’ll also probably hear Smith Rubio belting his favorite karaoke song: “All I Want” by Toad the Wet Sprocket.