Cathy Bottrell, LICSW, LCSW

Cathy Bottrell is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 23 years of experience supporting people through grief, illness, and major life transitions. She combines extensive clinical experience with a compassionate, practical approach to help teens and adults process past experiences, manage present challenges, and prepare for future change. Her work has addressed a broad range of concerns, including adjustment to illness, depression, anxiety, behavioral changes, grief and loss, adoption-related issues, and HIV/AIDS.

Cathy offers counseling in a warm, respectful setting that encourages open exploration and emotional processing. She is committed to guiding clients as they navigate painful life events, caregiving stresses, relationship difficulties, parenting challenges, career transitions, and other complex issues. Her practice includes support for stress, trauma and abuse, intimacy issues, substance and behavioral addictions, sleep difficulties, anger, ADHD, and compassion fatigue.

She holds the credentials LICSW and LCSW, which indicate licensure in clinical social work. Based in the District of Columbia, Cathy focuses on creating a collaborative therapeutic relationship that helps clients build coping skills, clarify values, and move toward meaningful change. Those seeking help with bereavement, chronic illness adjustment, family and adoption concerns, or general life transitions can reach out to begin the process of healing and growth.

Approaches and online care for life transitions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients clarify what matters most to them and build practical skills to act in line with those values despite difficult thoughts or feelings. It is useful for managing anxiety, depression, grief, and ongoing life adjustments.

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes an empathic, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist listens deeply and supports the client’s own capacity for growth. This approach can be particularly helpful for processing loss, identity concerns, relationship challenges, and stages of change.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and developing concrete strategies to change behaviors and emotions. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and stress-related concerns.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Cathy collaborates with clients to determine which methods align with their needs, goals, and preferences, adapting techniques over time as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging offers flexibility for busy schedules and for those managing health or caregiving responsibilities. These options make it easier to attend sessions from home or on the go, maintain continuity of care between meetings, and access licensed professionals who can provide consistent therapeutic support.