About Cathy
Cathy O'Brien is a Licensed Master Social Worker who brings six years of hands-on clinical experience in Michigan. She focuses on building a calm, respectful connection first so people feel heard and understood. Cathy aims to help clients handle stress, anxiety, mood challenges, and life changes with practical skills and steady support.
Her background includes work across school and clinic settings and offering therapy both in person and online. She has supported people managing depression, trauma and abuse, obsessive-compulsive concerns, ADHD, and grief.
How Cathy works
Cathy also addresses eating concerns, self-esteem, parenting stress, and mood disorders such as bipolar and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Cathy leans on client-centered ways of working to follow each person’s priorities. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help spot unhelpful thoughts and build new coping habits.
Emotionally-focused and mindfulness approaches help people notice feelings and practice calming attention. Sessions often mix brief goal-focused steps with space to talk through painful memories or ongoing worries. Cathy uses motivational interviewing when people want to change habits or need help moving toward goals.
This combined approach helps people make small, steady shifts that fit day-to-day life. Therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Cathy works in English and serves clients located in Michigan.
Cathy lists 7 ways of working on the entry:
What Cathy works with
The areas below are the ones Cathy selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Anger management
Also listed
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Eating disorders
- Family problems
- Grief
- Impulsivity
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Trichotillomania
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 6 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Michigan |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches work online
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and change small behaviors that keep problems going. It often focuses on practical steps you can try between sessions to reduce anxiety, manage panic, or ease compulsive routines.Client-Centered Therapy centers on listening and following the person’s lead. The therapist reflects what is said and creates space for someone to make sense of feelings, which can be useful when coping with grief, trauma, or low self-esteem.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy pays attention to strong feelings in the moment and helps people name and work through emotions that keep relationships or self-regard stuck. This can support those dealing with attachment issues or repeated emotional patterns.
Cathy treats the choice of approach as collaborative. She will talk with each person about goals and preferences, then try methods that match those needs. The plan can change as progress is made and new priorities emerge.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for a full conversation and visual cues, phone calls can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat or text messaging fits quick check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to continue work even when schedules change.
Start online instead of waiting
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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