About Cathy
Cathy Bottrell offers practical, person-focused therapy grounded in mindfulness and cognitive approaches. She is a licensed clinical social worker with 23 years of experience. Cathy keeps sessions straightforward and centered on what matters now for each person.
Cathy helps people manage grief, depression, anxiety, and the stress that comes with illness or big life changes. She also works with concerns such as addiction, ADHD, intimacy issues, sleep problems, and compassion fatigue.
Background and approach
People seeking support around adoption and foster care, caregiving strain, chronic health challenges, or fertility and aging matters may find her perspective useful. Her style is calm and direct. Sessions focus on practical skills, values-based choices, and gentle awareness practices.
Cathy uses tools from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and client-centered listening to help people notice patterns and try small, doable shifts. Cathy has worked across clinical settings and brings long experience navigating complex life challenges. She draws on that background to help people sort priorities, set realistic goals, and practice new ways of coping.
Her approach aims to reduce overwhelm with clear steps and steady support. Cathy sees adults and teens for individual counseling. She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules.
To begin, a person can use the Start Therapy button, fill a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a time that fits their needs.
How Mindful and Cognitive Methods Work Online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. It can be useful for grief, anxiety, or adjusting to illness when someone wants clearer purpose and steady steps forward.Client-Centered Therapy focuses on respectful, nonjudgmental listening and supporting the person’s own pace of change. It can help when someone needs space to process loss, parenting stress, or relationship concerns while feeling heard.
Finding the right approach is part of therapy. The therapist will talk with the person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they will try strategies and adjust the plan based on what works in real life.
Online sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone appointments, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is good for full conversations and exercises, phone works well when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text can be used for brief check-ins or ongoing support. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy days and to keep momentum between meetings.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Cathy address?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she have?
What credentials and location are listed?
Which languages are supported?
How are sessions conducted?
What does therapy cost?
How do I start working with her?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 23 years
- Licensed
- Virginia, District of Columbia
- Languages
- English