Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026

Katherine "Katie" Saraga has been in practice 5 years and is licensed in Illinois. Katherine lists stress, Anxiety, self esteem and coping with life changes among 19 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.

5years in practice
19subjects listed
9approaches listed

01 · Who Katherine works with

Katherine works with stress, Anxiety, self esteem and coping with life changes

Katherine lists 11 specialisms and 8 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
  • Self esteem
  • Coping with life changes
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Grief
  • Sleeping disorders
  • Anger management
  • Coaching
  • Compassion fatigue
  • ADHD
Also experienced with
  • Chronic pain, illness, and disability
  • Hearing impaired
  • Life purpose
  • Pregnancy and childbirth
  • Self-love
  • Visually impaired
  • Women's 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.

Hi there!! My name is Katie, and I'm a licensed Clinical Social Worker. I specialize in child, teen (13-19y), & young adult (20-25y) therapy, and disability advocacy.

My counseling style is pretty laid back. I have been described as supportive, thoughtful, and empathetic, with a pretty good sense of humor. I like to focus on identifying your strengths and helping you to maximize them to overcome your obstacles. I recognize that during these earlier stages of life where you are transitioning through school and into the "real world" can be intimidating! I'm here to help you sort through the things that are difficult right now, and offer you a safe place to be open and honest without fear of judgment. I am also a certified Animal Assisted Therapist, and my Therapy Dog Trekk is available to accompany our sessions on request! You have taken the first and most important step by reaching out for help.

I'm sorry you are having a tough time right now, but I'm really glad you are reaching out. I'd like to help you work on the struggles you are facing; and offer you a safe place to explore your thoughts and feelings. I offer all services, but contact me prior to schedule video sessions please. Once you respond to this message, I will send you some additional general information about how this online counseling process works, and then we can get started. Please feel free to ask questions at any time!

Should you feel in need of urgent help or that you are in crisis at any time during our work together; please call 1-800-273-TALK 24 hours a day; or 911. This forum does not provide any type of emergency services, so I want to be sure you know who to contact if you need immediate help.

You are not alone. Things can and will get better. I'm really looking forward to working with you!

Take care, Katie

Katherine "Katie" Saraga, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Katherine works

The 8 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.
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.
Narrative Therapy
Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.
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.

Also listed

  • Somatic Therapy

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

2 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 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
Illinois
Licence
IL LCSW 149026549
Licence number
149026549
Licence expires
30 Nov 2027
NPI
1164017448
Years in practice
5
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not 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 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 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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