About Kathrina
Kathrina Cauckwell-Rafferty is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California. She brings a decade of clinical experience to her practice and focuses on helping people manage anxiety, stress, addiction, and relationship concerns. She often works with people who are coping with trauma, grief, low self-esteem, or major life changes.
Kathrina has a strong background in substance use work and supports people as they build coping skills and healthier routines.
Background and approach
She also brings experience from programs serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Her approach emphasizes a non-judgmental, respectful environment. Sessions focus on clear, practical goals chosen together and on skills that can be used between meetings.
Kathrina uses Client-Centered Therapy to follow each person’s lead, Dialectical Behavior Therapy tools for managing intense emotions, and Motivational Interviewing to support readiness for change. Therapy is offered through a mix of video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Kathrina checks messages twice daily and aims to respond consistently.
She works with people to schedule sessions that fit their routines and needs. People considering work with her typically start by sharing what feels most urgent. From there she helps set short-term goals and practical steps for progress.
Her focus is on steady, realistic change rather than quick fixes.
Using DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Client-Centered Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the person's priorities. The therapist offers a warm, respectful stance and helps people clarify what matters most to them. This approach is useful for anxiety, relationship worries, and general life stress.Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches practical skills for handling strong emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness. It includes breathing and grounding techniques, distress-tolerance methods, and steps for changing difficult behavior. These skills can help with anxiety, anger, and coping after trauma.
Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative way to explore readiness for change. It helps people move through ambivalence about habits like substance use and supports commitment to achievable goals.
Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, history, and preferences, then try approaches that fit those needs. Adjustments are made along the way so the plan stays useful.
Online therapy offers flexibility in how and when people connect. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat is good for quick check-ins, and text messaging supports brief, ongoing contact between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep working on skills consistently.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Multicultural concerns
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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