About Catherine

I received my bachelor’s degree with honors from Brown University and my master’s degree from Boston College. I acquired my clinical training at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School’s largest psychiatric affiliate, on an inpatient unit in the division of Anxiety and Mood Disorders, and I trained at the OCD Institute (OCDI), the nation’s first and foremost treatment center for OCD. I am also one of the few clinicians in the U.S. trained in Inference-based Therapy (IBT or I-CBT) by Frederick Aardema, the creator of I-CBT, and I was the very first person in the U.S. to start teaching courses on I-CBT to other clinicians. I have had the pleasure of being a guest on a number of podcasts, including The OCD Stories, The OCD Whisperer, and FemPower, and I frequently present at international conferences and universities. Before becoming a psychotherapist, I owned a wellness company in which I helped people heal from destructive relationships with food and nourishment and instead learn to eat and live according to their own values. I am also a longtime student of the Enneagram and enjoy using it as a tool for self-knowledge and growth.

Despite my fancy schmancy credentials, I am actually a really laidback Californian who values authenticity and being real with people. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to New England to go to college. There I met my husband, a rugged Florida outdoorsman, and after graduating, I dragged him with me to big cities like NYC and Boston. Fifteen years later, when COVID hit, we ditched city life and moved to a quiet, peaceful lake in the middle of Maine. We recently bought a home in the desert, near Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, where we live half the year to soak up the California sunshine during Maine's long winters and spend time with my family.

I genuinely love being a therapist and even when I'm not with clients, I spend a lot of time learning and continuing to hone my expertise. When I’m not doing that, I’m most likely to be found listening to historical fiction audiobooks while cooking delicious vegan dishes, practicing yoga, hiking, painting, or excessively praising our three little rescue dogs---Prince, Shoshie, and Charlotte---for just existing. I’m really into personal color analysis and love figuring out someone’s “best colors.” For my fellow typology nerds, I am the rare combination of an Enneagram 8 and an INFJ, which basically means I have depth and compassion with a lot of protective strength.