01 · Who Catherine works with

Catherine works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and grief

Catherine lists 12 specialisms and 19 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Catherine chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Catherine's own words

What Catherine says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Hello, I am a LCSW originally from NY, and presently living in sunny Florida. I worked as a psychotherapist in private practice / adjunct professor in New York combined for 20 years, and now a resident practicing in Florida. In addition, I have also worked as an LCSW for the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse as a provider for persons charged with Driving While Intoxicated.

My work is a range of mental health diagnosis such as anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, and most mental health disorders. I specialize in codependency, self esteem issues and substance abuse.

I consider myself a kind, empathic, "say it like it is" therapist. I have a sense of humor respectfully in times when needed. Some of the therapeutic approaches I practice are humanistic, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic and mindfulness. I start where the client is and go from there. My concerns are always for my clients first and foremost! I will work diligently with my clients to help them succeed in this journey and to focus on a better life and happiness.

Ethics and confidentiality are of the highest priorities in my practice. It is not easy to bring oneself in for help, but it is also one of the most brave and courageous healthy steps to take to enhance one's sense of self.

I look forward to speaking and meeting you in the near future.

Catherine McLaughlin, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Catherine works

The 6 approaches Catherine lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Catherine lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Catherine's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Catherine runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Catherine practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Catherine's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Catherine at this point.

2. Naming Catherine specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Catherine is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Catherine.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Catherine

Built from what Catherine actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Catherine's - Catherine has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 23 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

New York

Licence

NY LCSW 074250

Licence number

074250

Licence expires

30 Apr 2027

NPI

1851766992

Years in practice

23

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Catherine's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Catherine. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.