Katherine "Kate" McDonald
Supportive counselor for stress and family concerns
- Credentials
- LPC, LPCC
- Experience
- 13 years
- Licensed in
- Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Katherine
Katherine "Kate" McDonald is a licensed counselor who focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, addiction, mood concerns, and family issues. She speaks plainly and listens first, meeting each person where they are. Her style aims to make talking about hard things feel workable and steady for a worried parent reading on a phone.
Kate trained in forensic psychology and holds professional counseling licenses in Colorado. Over 13 years she has worked mostly in community mental health with adolescents and adults, and she has experience with trauma, addictions, and mood and anxiety disorders.
Background and approach
She uses practical tools you can try between sessions. In sessions she often draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness-based techniques. Those approaches focus on noticing thoughts, choosing values-driven actions, and building simple skills for stress and mood regulation.
She also has training in Brainspotting, which works with the body’s responses to difficult memories. Her work is grounded in respect for each person’s worth and dignity. She emphasizes a collaborative process - listening first, then setting small, realistic steps toward the goals a person names.
Kate adapts methods to what feels useful and realistic for the family or individual. Outside of practice she enjoys being outdoors, knitting, and bullet journaling. If someone is ready to start, she asks them to share what they need and then they plan the first steps together.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and problems where confusion about priorities makes things harder. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying thought and behavior patterns that keep problems going and then testing new ways of thinking and acting to reduce symptoms. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce overwhelm and improve emotion regulation. Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with the client about goals and preferences, and then try methods that fit those needs. If one technique does not feel helpful, she adjusts the plan and uses what works best for the person. Online therapy with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging offers flexibility for busy families and people who cannot travel. Video lets conversations feel more face-to-face, while phone or text can be easier on hectic days. These options make it possible to use ACT, CBT, and mindfulness exercises in ways that fit a person’s schedule and daily life.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.
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.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 13 years
- Licensed
- Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Katherine
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point