About Caitlin

A little bit about my practice

First of all, I want to offer a warm welcome and say congrats on taking a step towards achieving whatever goals or change you are looking for. I know sometimes even getting this far is not easy.

I am passionate about helping my clients work through their challenges, function more effectively, and gain psychological flexibility alongside self-compassion. I believe that through meaningful relationships and thinking beyond the paradigms prescribed by society, people can achieve outcomes in which they find satisfaction and peace.

As a social worker I have been trained to understand the person in their environment, meaning that I consider not only what the person is struggling with on an individual level, but also the roles that systemic and institutional factors play in the person’s experience, as well as how our multiple identities intersect and lead us to experience a variety of privileges and/or oppressions.

I work with women in particular and take the context of being a woman in today’s society, all of the roles we fill, and all of the expectations placed on us into account in our work together. In this way, we can come to understand our patterns, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in both a personal sense as well as in a broader context.

In my practice I work with women experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, anxiety, family and other relationship difficulties, mild to moderate depression, life transitions, and occupational stress. I also work with people struggling with insomnia using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). I engage with individuals in a client-centered, acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy informed model, using mindfulness techniques and value-based goal setting, to work towards overcoming acute stressors and achieving realistic, healthy goals.

My therapy philosophy

A good fit = best chance for growth and progress

In my practice, fit is essential. Research shows us that regardless of the kind of therapy being done, the biggest predictor of progress in therapy is the strength of the therapeutic relationship — if the fit is right, the work can flow. This is one of the foundational elements of how I work. When you reach out, the matching process is designed with this same goal in mind: finding you a therapist who’s the right fit.

What does a good fit look like?

Collaboration is key

I believe that therapy is a collaborative process in that it requires work and dedication from both parties. I think of it as not me leading you, not you leading me, but the two of us working side by side. As your therapist, I will help facilitate growth and change. Progress in therapy depends a lot on your willingness to engage in this process, which requires an investment of time and energy. Just as you invest, I will invest too.

In order to be the best therapist for you, I attend trainings, engage in peer consultation, and carry a caseload that allows me to be present for you and invest in you and your growth. I can promise to support you and do my very best to understand you and work with you towards your goals.

Therapeutic approaches

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral theory says that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all linked. We can’t access emotion change directly — you can’t just feel happy or feel angry upon command. If you could, you wouldn’t be here! But we can change our behaviors and shift our thought patterns that then can indirectly bring about emotion change. If you can think or do differently, then you can feel differently.

Using CBT tools, we can examine your thought patterns, pinpoint thought errors, and help you develop alternative, more effective ways of thinking. We can also examine how your behaviors may be making you feel worse and look at how you can experiment with behavior change to bring about positive emotion change. CBT can be helpful across so many different challenges, whether you are struggling with postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, postpartum OCD, depression, anxiety, OCD, difficult relationship patterns, etc.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is known as a third wave behavioral therapy, developed after CBT. In ACT (pronounced as the word, not the letters like CBT is), there are six principles: acceptance, cognitive defusion, being present, self as context, values, and committed action.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a therapeutic approach designed to relieve distress associated with traumatic memories. This powerful approach can help alleviate symptoms from disturbing life events in much less time than traditional psychotherapy. By using the nervous system’s innate processing system, EMDR helps remove issues that disturbing life events created, allowing the processing system to move towards healing. This treatment is administered through a protocol and can bring great relief for people who are suffering from the effects of trauma or from stuck, unhelpful beliefs about themselves that they can’t seem to get past. EMDR can be used in conjunction with talk therapy or as a stand-alone treatment. You can learn more about EMDR at the EMDR International Association website.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

Interpersonal Psychotherapy, IPT, is a kind of therapy that focuses on interpersonal issues. It is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to be effective with a wide range of disorders, particularly useful for women struggling with postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. IPT targets three important areas — resolving symptoms, improving functioning in your relationships with other people, and increasing social support. In IPT we look at how you tend to relate to others in relationships and how we can help you improve communication, reduce conflict, and get more of what you need from the supports in your life, including sometimes building new supports.

Credentials & training

Clinical Director of Era Psychotherapy

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, then moved to Boston and worked in clinical research before completing my Masters at Simmons School of Social Work in 2014, with a specialization in substance use and mental health. In my first two years after receiving my MSW, I worked under supervisors for 3,500 hours of direct clinical work, meeting for weekly supervision to further develop my skills.

I chose to focus my work specifically on women’s mental health, and since beginning my practice I’ve become more specialized — focusing on women in the perinatal period as they adjust to the transition to parenthood, role changes, relationship shifts, loss, anxiety, depression, and the many other things that accompany this time of life.

As my practice grew, I saw more women who needed this same specialized, compassionate care than I had room for on my own. That’s why I founded Era Psychotherapy — so that even when my own caseload is full, you can still be matched with a therapist who understands the perinatal and postpartum journey as deeply as I do. As Clinical Director, I help build and guide that team, so more women can get this care when they need it.

Areas of interest

Get in touch with Caitlin and Era