Practitioner record · Checked 8 Nov 2026

Kathleen O'Connor has been in practice 25 years and is licensed in Massachusetts. Kathleen lists addictions, trauma and abuse and bipolar disorder among 28 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Kathleen'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.

25years in practice
28subjects listed
7approaches listed

01 · Who Kathleen works with

Kathleen works with addictions, trauma and abuse and bipolar disorder

Kathleen lists 17 specialisms and 11 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Kathleen chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Addictions
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Depression
  • ADHD
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Grief
  • Intimacy-related issues
  • Sleeping disorders
  • Parenting issues
  • Anger management
  • Self esteem
  • Career difficulties
  • Coping with life changes
  • Compassion fatigue
Also experienced with
  • Adoption and foster care
  • Caregiver issues and stress
  • Drug and alcohol addiction
  • Family of origin issues
  • Family problems
  • First responder issues
  • Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
  • Mood disorders
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
  • Self-love

02 · In Kathleen's own words

What Kathleen says about the work

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

I am a Master’s Prepared Clinical Social Worker with diverse experience. I have a passion for helping others to achieve their goals and realize their full potential. As part of my MSW program I participated in a multi-disciplinary consortium and earned a certificate, Specialized Mental Health Provider, focusing on the severely mentally ill and the dually diagnosed. I am currently licensed in Massachusetts as an LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker) and was previously licensed in both Indiana and Ohio and have also held certification as a Chemical Dependency Counselor in Ohio. I have over 25 years’ experience providing direct service in a variety of settings to clients ages 3 to 102. I began my journey as a Social Services Director in a 114-bed nursing home in 1995 and have worked with folks in a variety of settings including but not limited to substance abuse treatment, criminal justice settings, dialysis clinics, psychiatric emergency rooms, and in the community. I have worked in rural areas and the inner city and have provided in home therapy as well as community-based crisis and most recently have been providing telehealth via phone and video during the pandemic. I believe that the key is to meet the you where you are currently, empower you and travel with you to where you are going (goal); whether this is a short-term connection or journey of several years depends on you and the complexity of your goal. My counseling style is interactive, with frequent checking in to ensure that I am hearing you and maintain open communication. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, and I don't believe in stigmatizing labels. Although my current approach primarily combines motivational interviewing, mindfulness, CBT, DBT, and TFCBT; I am always seeking to learn new things and will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. It takes courage to seek for a more fulfilling and happier life and by coming here and searching you have already taken the first step towards a change. If you are ready to take the next step I am here to support and empower you. I look forward to working with you!

Kathleen O'Connor, on the BetterHelp listing · read 8 Nov 2026

03 · How Kathleen works

The 7 approaches Kathleen lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Kathleen lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Kathleen'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 Kathleen 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.
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.
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.
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

Kathleen 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 Kathleen'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 Kathleen at this point.

  2. Naming Kathleen specifically

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

  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 Kathleen

Built from what Kathleen actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Kathleen's - Kathleen 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 25 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
LICSW
Licensed in
Massachusetts
Licence
MA LICSW 121635
Licence number
121635
Licence expires
6 Sep 2027
NPI
1770728776
Years in practice
25
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Kathleen'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 Kathleen. 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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