Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
How Cathy works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LPC
- Licensed in
- Michigan
- Years in practice
- 18
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Cathy
Cathy Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 18 years of experience. She blends practical tools with listening to help people manage stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and life transitions. She began her career after college working in residential care for young people with emotional and mental health needs.
That experience led her to earn a master’s in Special Education and later a master’s in Counseling Psychology. Her background includes teaching in institutional, public, personal, and alternative settings, and many years working directly with people across wide age ranges.
Background and approach
Her approach centers on relationship and collaboration. She asks about a person’s culture, beliefs, work, and family life so she can tailor sessions to real concerns. She uses a strength-based view, looking for existing skills to build on rather than starting from deficits.
Cathy offers practical methods including client-centered techniques, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral tools, and solution-focused strategies. She also draws on psychodynamic ideas and motivational interviewing when that fits a person’s goals. Sessions are guided by what each person wants to change and how they prefer to work.
Clients have sought support for trauma, PTSD, grief, addictions, parenting strain, ADHD, intimacy struggles, eating and sleep problems, caregiver stress, and career issues. Cathy works in both English and Spanish and is based in Michigan, bringing years of direct experience with diverse life challenges.
What Cathy works with
Everything Cathy lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Cathy's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Cathy lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person's experience. It emphasizes empathy, respect, and working at the client’s pace to set goals and explore feelings; it can help with stress, anger, relationship concerns, and identity questions.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors interact. It uses straightforward exercises and homework to reduce anxiety, manage anger, improve sleep, and change unhelpful patterns.
Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices that help with emotional regulation and coping with strong feelings. It pairs well with other approaches for anxiety, grief, and trauma-related symptoms.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, try methods, and adjust based on what helps most, so sessions feel collaborative and practical.
Online sessions offer flexibility through video calls, phone appointments, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and exercises that benefit from visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and texting work well for quick updates, homework review, or staying connected between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit care into busy lives and different schedules.
Questions people ask about Cathy
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
Cathy helps people with stress, anxiety, anger, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting stress, ADHD, and many related concerns.
How would you describe her style and approach?
She uses a collaborative, relationship-focused style. Sessions combine listening with practical tools from client-centered work, CBT, mindfulness, and solution-focused methods.
What is her professional background?
She has 18 years of experience and a background that includes work in residential treatment, teaching, special education, and counseling psychology.
Where is she based and what credential does she hold?
She practices in Michigan and holds the LPC credential as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
Can sessions be held in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish, and she also accepts international clients.
What formats are available for sessions?
She provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling according to the therapist's availability.