“Liberation is what happens between people; not against, for or on behalf of others.” – Taiwo Afuape
Catherine is an AMFT #129997 (Associate Marriage and Family Therapist) who completed her master’s degree in counseling psychology (expressive arts therapy concentration) from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
To her trauma and attachment-informed individual and group expressive arts sessions she brings:
- Ketamine-Assisted Expressive Arts (KAEXA)
- anxiety reduction practices such as breathing, grounding, mindfulness and visualization
- expressive arts practices (music, visual, drama, movement/dance and literary/spoken word/poetry/songwriting)
- narrative therapy practices to transform problem-saturated stories
A native of the Milwaukee area, Catherine earned her bachelor’s degree in music therapy and music education from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She has worked with children adolescents and adults as a music therapist in a wide variety of settings including schools, residential treatment centers, summer camps, short and long-term care facilities as well as in private practice.
Catherine enjoys bringing playful curiosity to the process of re-connecting with inner and outer resources to co-create possibilities for healing and integration. She draws from the postmodern frameworks of liberation psychology and person-centered therapy. Some of her professional influences are Taiwo Afupe, Helen Bonny and Natalie Rogers.
At CIIS, she has studied with expressive arts pioneers such as Armand Volkas (drama therapy) and Patricia B. Allen (art therapy). Currently, she is being mentored by person-centered expressive arts therapist Anin Utigaard who studied with Natalie Rogers. Catherine has also been practicing loving-kindness meditation and non-violent communication (NVC) for over 20 years.
Currently, Catherine is providing ketamine-assisted expressive arts through a coaching program. Recently, Catherine provided child-centered play therapy to children and families and online support groups for mothers. She has also provided individual and group counseling to adults with histories of trauma and substance use disorders. Before that she offered safety and stabilization practices to people going through mental health crises as a Crisis Peer Counselor.
She has also been a substitute teacher, singer-songwriter, recording artist and front-end website developer. As a culturally humble therapist in training, she accepts clients of all ages, abilities, beliefs, genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, immigration statuses, races and ethnicities at all stages of change. Read Catherine’s EXA Manifesto.