Cathy Bottrell

Cathy Bottrell is a licensed clinical social worker with over 23 years of practice experience. She brings a steady, straightforward approach to counseling and helps people cope with grief, loss, illness, and major life transitions.

Her work covers a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, anger, stress, and adjustment to health challenges. She also addresses issues related to adoption and foster care, relationship and communication problems, parenting strain, and challenges tied to caregiving and chronic illness.

Cathy uses approaches drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness-based work to shape sessions. She aims to help people process past experiences, manage current stresses, and make choices that match their values going forward.

Sessions focus on clear, practical steps and on exploring what matters most to each person. Cathy provides a calm space where clients can talk through painful memories, practice new skills, and test different ways of handling difficult emotions.

She works with adults and teens, offering guidance for coping with life changes such as divorce, career transitions, fertility and family-of-origin concerns. Cathy practices in the District of Columbia as a DC LICSW and VA LCSW and conducts counseling in English.

How ACT, CBT, and Client-Centered Work Translate to Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small, meaningful steps toward those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. It often helps with anxiety, depression, grief, and stress-related problems. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and practicing concrete strategies to change them; this approach is commonly used for anxiety, depression, anger, and sleep problems. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening, empathy, and building a strong therapeutic relationship so clients can explore their feelings and make their own choices.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Cathy will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals and preferences, and she will adjust the plan as needs change. The process is meant to feel gradual and tailored rather than one-size-fits-all.

Confirm current session options before booking, as specific formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also makes it simpler to continue work on grief, anger, or stress when life circumstances make in-person visits difficult. Talk with the therapist or platform to learn which session arrangements are currently offered and which will best fit daily routines.