Practitioner record · Checked 8 Nov 2026

Katherine "Kate" McDonald has been in practice 13 years and is licensed in Colorado. Katherine lists stress, Anxiety, addictions and LGBT among 48 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Katherine's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

13years in practice
48subjects listed
7approaches listed

01 · Who Katherine works with

Katherine works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and LGBT

Katherine lists 17 specialisms and 31 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Katherine chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Addictions
  • LGBT
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Depression
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Grief
  • Intimacy-related issues
  • Sleeping disorders
  • Parenting issues
  • Anger management
  • Self esteem
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Coping with life changes
  • Compassion fatigue
  • ADHD
Also experienced with
  • Blended family issues
  • Body image
  • Communication problems
  • Control issues
  • Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
  • Drug and alcohol addiction
  • Emptiness
  • Family of origin issues
  • Family problems
  • Guilt and shame
  • Infidelity
  • Isolation / loneliness
  • Jealousy
  • Life purpose
  • Mood disorders
  • Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
  • Panic disorder and panic attacks
  • Phobias
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
  • Self-harm
  • Self-love
  • Sex addiction
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Sexuality
  • Smoking / vaping cessation
  • Social anxiety and phobia
  • Women's issues
  • Workplace issues
  • Young adult issues

02 · In Katherine's own words

What Katherine says about the work

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

Hello! I'm Kate, and I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Addiction Counselor in the state of Colorado. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. No matter where you come from or what you have been through in your life, you have value, just as you are. These beliefs guide my life and my work as a counselor and psychotherapist. If you choose to work with me, my role will be to meet you where you are, to listen to you, and to offer support along your way. Together, we will explore your needs and goals and figure out how to move forward.

Some details: I grew up in Virginia and completed my undergraduate education at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2012, I moved to Colorado to complete my Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology at the University of Denver. Since then I have worked primarily in community mental health care, providing care to adolescents and adults from all kinds of backgrounds. I have specialized in addiction issues, trauma, and mood and anxiety disorders. Although I adapt my approach for each client's individual needs, I often draw from acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based techniques. I am also trained in Brainspotting, which uses the mind-body connection to heal the impacts of trauma and other difficult emotions and experiences. In 2021, I moved to the United Kingdom where I am now a counsellor for the National Health Service. I remain fully licensed in Colorado and am also a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

When I'm not doing therapy I enjoy being outdoors and spending time with family. My hobbies include knitting, bullet journaling, and trying not to kill my houseplants.

Struggling is hard. Sometimes reaching out is harder - I am glad you have taken this step! If what I have said sounds good to you so far, let's get connected and talk about what you need.

Katherine "Kate" McDonald, on the BetterHelp listing · read 8 Nov 2026

03 · How Katherine works

The 7 approaches Katherine lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Katherine lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Katherine'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 Katherine runs a session.

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyACT
Rather than trying to argue a painful thought away, ACT works on loosening its grip and getting on with what matters to you anyway. Sessions spend real time naming your values, then building action around them while difficult feelings are still present.
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.
Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT
A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.
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.
Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed
CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Katherine 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 Katherine'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 Katherine at this point.

  2. Naming Katherine specifically

    BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Katherine 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 Katherine.

  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

3 questions worth asking Katherine

Built from what Katherine actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Katherine's - Katherine 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.

  • “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
LIMHP
Licensed in
Colorado
Licence
NE LIMHP 4320, MN LPCC 4607
Licence number
LPC.0014444
Licence expires
31 Aug 2027
NPI
1386044881
Years in practice
13
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Accepted
Listed since
15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Katherine'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 8 Nov 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 Katherine. 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.

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