About Catherine
Catherine Elzie is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing trauma, mood disorders, relationship stress, and LGBT-related concerns. She has 15 years of mental health experience and a long background in substance abuse work. Her style is direct, warm, and often lightly humorous when it fits the moment.
Catherine takes a collaborative approach. She treats people as the experts on their own lives and works alongside them to set goals.
Background and approach
Sessions are straightforward and practical, with tools people can use between meetings. Her work often focuses on post-traumatic stress, depression, and bipolar mood issues. She also supports people dealing with identity and discrimination, gender dysphoria, and the aftermath of sexual assault or abuse.
First responder and veteran-related concerns are among her areas of attention. Catherine draws on a mix of cognitive and mindfulness-based approaches to help people change unhelpful thoughts and build coping skills. She emphasizes skills that reduce distress and improve communication and life direction.
She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master of Social Work at the University of Nevada, Reno. Catherine holds an Oregon licensed clinical social worker credential (OR LCSW L13618) and works with clients in English. Sessions are offered via video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
New clients begin by completing a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a session.
How her approaches fit into online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify what matters to them and take committed steps toward those values. It uses acceptance and mindful awareness to reduce the struggle with painful thoughts and feelings and often helps with mood issues and life direction. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and changing behaviors that keep problems going; it is practical and goal-oriented for depression, anxiety, and mood regulation. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches coping skills for intense emotions and relationship difficulties, including distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and clearer communication.Finding the best approach is part of the work. Catherine will collaborate with each person to pick or combine methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. The first sessions are used to see what fits and to adjust tools as progress is made.
Online therapy offers flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video calls let people have a face-to-face session without travel, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for shorter check-ins, and text-based messaging supports ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to keep continuity when plans change.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Catherine commonly address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she based?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Can people outside the U.S. work with her?
What session formats are available?
How are costs and next steps handled?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Bipolar disorder
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Family of origin issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Oregon
- Languages
- English