Catherine Elzie , LCSW

Catherine Elzie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with deep experience supporting people through trauma, mood disorders, and identity-related concerns. She brings 15 years of clinical work in mental health and two decades of professional experience in substance abuse treatment to her practice, combining trauma-informed care with practical skills and compassion.

She emphasizes a collaborative approach, viewing each person as the expert on their own life and working together to set goals and choose strategies that fit. Clients describe her as warm, non-judgmental, and validating; she also uses irreverence and humor when appropriate. Her practice is body positive and informed by a Healthy at Every Size - HAES - perspective, and she is explicitly LGBTQ+ affirming and sex positive.

Catherine has focused experience treating PTSD and other trauma, including childhood and generational trauma, and she offers culturally competent care for veterans, including women veterans and LGBTQ+ veterans. She also works with people facing depression, bipolar disorder, relationship challenges, and a range of life stressors such as chronic illness, family of origin issues, and communication difficulties.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2005) and a Master of Social Work from the University of Nevada, Reno (2008). She is licensed in New Mexico and Oregon and is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, and Motivational Interviewing.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Catherine integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into her work to help people clarify their values and take meaningful action even when difficult thoughts and feelings are present. ACT is useful for clients who want to build a more flexible relationship with internal experience and pursue goals that matter to them.

She is also intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which emphasizes skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. DBT can be especially helpful for people struggling with intense emotions, relationship conflicts, or self-destructive patterns.

Motivational Interviewing is another approach she uses to support people who are ambivalent about change. This collaborative conversational style helps clients explore their own reasons for change and strengthen motivation in a respectful, nonjudgmental way.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work together. Catherine collaborates with each person to assess needs, preferences, and goals, and she tailors methods so therapy fits the individual rather than forcing a single model.

Online therapy with Catherine is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which makes it easier to fit care into busy or geographically dispersed lives. These options provide flexibility in scheduling, allow continuity of care across locations, and let clients choose the format that feels most comfortable for them.