Kathrina Cauckwell-Rafferty, LCSW - Therapist in California

About Kathrina

Kathrina Cauckwell-Rafferty is a licensed clinical social worker who uses a client-centered approach to help people facing family and parenting challenges. She emphasizes practical coping skills and clear goals. Her style is straightforward and focused on building trust and safety in sessions.

Many people seek her support for stress, anxiety, grief, and relationship strain. She has spent a decade working primarily with substance use disorders, which shaped her focus on coping skills and relapse prevention.

Background and approach

That experience also includes providing therapy in programs for domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors. Over time she has worked with families navigating adoption and foster care, blended family transitions, and family-of-origin struggles. In sessions she blends client-centered methods with Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing.

That mix helps people manage strong emotions, stay motivated for change, and build healthier patterns in relationships. She explains strategies in plain language and practices them together with clients during sessions. Her background includes ten years of clinical work and a California LCSW license, CA LCSW 87327.

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. Sessions follow a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. Kathrina frames the first meetings as an opportunity to set clear goals and a plan.

She checks messages regularly and uses that communication to support progress between scheduled sessions.

How her approaches translate to online care

Client-Centered Therapy is about listening and following the client’s lead. Kathrina creates space for people to set their own goals and then supports those goals with practical steps. This approach is useful for family and parenting concerns where the client knows what changes they want to try.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches specific skills for managing strong emotions and improving communication. When emotions run high in family situations or during recovery from addiction, DBT skills help people stay regulated and respond differently. Motivational Interviewing focuses on strengthening a person’s own reasons for change through respectful conversation and clear choices.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. She will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has helped before, then recommend which methods to try first. The plan can change over time as needs evolve, and decisions are made collaboratively.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which make it easier to fit sessions into busy family schedules. These formats allow for regular check-ins, practice of skills between meetings, and flexible ways to communicate when something comes up. Licensed professionals can use these tools to maintain momentum and adapt care to each person’s life.

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.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Concrete skills for riding out strong emotion, tolerating distress, and handling relationships without things escalating. The skills are practised in daily life, so between-session support by message or phone fits naturally.

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

What concerns does Kathrina commonly address?

She works with issues such as addictions, family and parenting challenges, stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and intimacy-related issues, grief, and anger. Additional focuses include adoption and foster care, blended family issues, and workplace concerns.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her approach is client-centered and practical, focusing on clear goals and usable skills. She also incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing when those methods fit a person’s needs.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has ten years of clinical experience, with substantial work in substance use treatment and specialty programs for domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors.

What are her credentials and where is she licensed?

She is a licensed clinical social worker with the California license CA LCSW 87327 and practices in California.

Which languages are supported for sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

What session formats are available?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.

How does payment work and what does it cost?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin working with her?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist’s availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Addictions
Family conflicts
Parenting issues

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 10 years
Licensed: California
Languages: English

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