Cathy Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor who focuses on building a respectful, down-to-earth connection with each person she meets.
01About Cathy
Cathy Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor who focuses on building a respectful, down-to-earth connection with each person she meets. She draws on 18 years of experience to listen, reflect, and help clients find practical steps forward. Cathy speaks English and Spanish and works with people across Michigan and beyond.
Before counseling she taught in many settings and worked in residential care for youth with emotional and mental health needs.
Background and approach
That background shaped her belief that strong relationships help people change. She values learning about a person’s culture, background, work life, and beliefs to shape treatment that fits. Cathy uses straightforward, goal-oriented methods.
She often blends client-centered work, cognitive behavioral techniques, and mindfulness to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma. Sessions focus on identifying strengths, trying small changes, and tracking what helps. She also offers solution-focused and psychodynamic ideas when the situation calls for them.
This can mean looking at patterns from the past that affect current goals, then pairing that understanding with concrete coping steps. The emphasis remains on what the person wants to change. Her practice covers a wide range of concerns such as relationship strain, grief, addiction issues, parenting stress, compassion fatigue, ADHD, eating and sleep problems, and career questions.
Cathy aims to help people move toward clearer decisions and steadier days.
02Credentials
- LPC (Michigan)
- License 6401010540 · expires March 2028
- NPI
- 1528269065 · national provider identifier
Both are public records. A state board register will confirm a license and its standing, and the national registry will confirm an NPI. This directory copies what the counselor lists and checks neither.
03Focus areas and approaches
Everything Cathy lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Methods Cathy names
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
These are the methods Cathy names on their own professional profile. Naming an approach is not evidence of training or certification in it, and this directory checks no training records. Ask directly if it matters to you.
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04Online support
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting so the person feels heard and understood. Online sessions use that same emphasis on listening and follow the client’s lead to set goals and next steps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify unhelpful thoughts and try different actions to change mood and behavior; in video or phone sessions this becomes practical homework and short experiments to practice between meetings.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Cathy will work with each person to decide which methods fit their needs and preferences, then adjust as progress is seen. The plan can mix listening-focused work, CBT tools, or mindfulness exercises based on the client’s goals.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversations and guided exercises, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a quieter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging allow for brief check-ins, skill practice, and flexible communication between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit counseling into a busy life and to try different formats to see what helps most.
05Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Cathy address?
She works with a broad range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, addictions, ADHD, and parenting challenges.
What is her general therapy style like?
Her style is warm and practical, blending client-centered listening with goal-focused methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness practices.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 18 years of combined experience from teaching, residential care, and counseling roles to her practice.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds the LPC credential and practices in Michigan.
Which languages are supported during sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
She accepts international clients.
What formats are used for sessions?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How are fees and scheduling handled?
Costs vary by location and therapist arrangement; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time and scheduling follows the platform process.
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