Catherine Costa
Practical, goal-focused support for parents and adults
- Credentials
- LICSW
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed in
- Rhode Island
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Catherine
Catherine Costa is a licensed independent clinical social worker who practices in Rhode Island. She focuses on stress, anxiety, parenting concerns, self-esteem, career challenges, and other life changes. She draws on practical methods to help people set goals and make steady progress.
Her tone is respectful, direct, and encouraging. Catherine uses evidence-informed approaches like solution-focused work and motivational interviewing to guide short-term progress. She also brings narrative techniques that help clients reframe their stories and see new options.
Background and approach
Sessions center on clear goal-setting and concrete steps rather than vague promises. She explains options in plain language and adapts the plan to the person in front of her. Conversations are collaborative - she asks questions, listens, and helps map small experiments clients can try between sessions.
That focus helps people measure change and decide what to try next. Catherine has a background working with issues such as trauma and abuse, grief, caregiver stress, adoption and foster care concerns, workplace and money challenges, and managing compassion fatigue. She also supports people navigating bipolar disorder, anger, and ADHD-related struggles.
Parents and caregivers who are wondering how to reduce overwhelm or strengthen routines often find her practical orientation helpful. She encourages realistic steps and celebrates small gains along the way. If someone wants clear feedback and an action-oriented plan, she offers that kind of support.
Approaches that translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and responding to each person's needs. It helps people feel heard and decide what matters most to them, which can be useful for parenting stresses and self-esteem issues. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and teaches practical exercises to reduce anxiety and improve mood. Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change and build motivation without pressure.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Catherine will talk with clients about their goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't worked before. Together they choose methods to try and adjust them over time in a collaborative way.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. These options make it easier to keep regular appointments, try brief check-ins between longer sessions, and maintain momentum when life gets busy. Licensed professionals can use these formats to offer focused, goal-directed support wherever the client is located in Rhode Island.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Motivational Interviewing
A way of working through mixed feelings about change without being pushed. The therapist helps you weigh things up and find your own reasons, which often makes a difficult decision feel less stuck.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
Also works with
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- Rhode Island
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Catherine
- Takes a few minutes to look through
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- Stop at any point