About Cathy
Cathy Bottrell is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, and life transitions. She uses down-to-earth language and practical strategies to support clients through hard moments. Cathy holds a District of Columbia LICSW and a Virginia LCSW and brings 23 years of clinical experience to her work.
She offers straightforward counseling for depression, changes tied to illness, and the emotions that accompany loss. Cathy also addresses relationship concerns, self-esteem, addiction-related struggles, and issues around intimacy.
Background and approach
Her approach is rooted in listening first, then working together to find useful steps forward. In sessions she mixes mindfulness, acceptance-based techniques, and cognitive-behavioral ideas to help people notice thoughts, name feelings, and try new behaviors. Client-centered principles guide how she responds - clients set the pace while she follows and supports.
This makes it easier to address worries, overwhelm, or the fatigue that comes from caregiving and health challenges. Cathy has worked with adoption and foster care questions, survivor issues, chronic illness, fertility and aging concerns, and the stress of caregiving. She also helps people facing career shifts, parenting strain, and grief tied to major life changes.
Practical coping skills and short-term goals are common parts of her work. Sessions are offered in English and are available by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. To begin, a person selects Start Therapy, completes a short matching questionnaire, and schedules based on the therapist's availability.
Online approaches that focus on present steps and values
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It focuses on identifying values and taking small actions toward a valued life, which can help with anxiety, grief, and major life changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It teaches practical skills to test unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors, useful for worry, low mood, and sleep problems.
Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes genuine listening and unconditional acceptance. This makes it easier for people to feel heard, build trust, and set goals at their own pace.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with the person about needs, goals, and preferences and then try methods that fit. Adjustments are made along the way so the plan stays useful and realistic.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video is good for more in-depth conversations, phone can be simpler when bandwidth is limited, live chat and texting work for brief check-ins and ongoing support. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and varied routines.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- 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
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