Get to Know Dr. Catarina Alves
Hi, I am Catarina. I am a psychologist and advocate.
I see therapy as a co-constructed space in which clients can re-connect with their emotions, curiosity, imagination, and radical self-love. I am my clients’ accomplice in change - together we work to subvert harmful internalized messages, and understand the stories we tell about ourselves. We work towards noticing our emotions without judgement, but with curiosity. We work towards connecting with kindness and compassion for ourselves, and discovering agency. I intend not only to affirm my clients’ experiences, identities, and strengths - but to collaboratively liberate: helping clients become author and actor in the process of dismantling internalized pain and oppressive systems.
I’ve been working as a therapist for over 15 years, and I remain deeply passionate about this work. I value transparency and authenticity, and I strive to cultivate spaces in which my clients’ can trust their judgement rather than relying on mine. Humor and curiosity are central to how I show up in sessions—along with plenty of tea.
I’m a licensed psychologist in New York. I earned my PhD in Counseling Psychology from Southern Illinois University and have had the privilege of working in a variety of settings—community clinics, hospitals, universities, and beyond. These experiences have shaped my approach and deepened my understanding of the many ways people heal and grow.
My training as a scientist-practitioner focused on trauma, gender-based violence, sex trafficking, and relationship counseling. These areas continue to guide the work I do today.
I work with children, teens, and adults, and I truly enjoy supporting each group. With kids, I’m inspired by their endless curiosity. With teens, I admire their courage and resilience as they push against limits and discover who they are. And with adults, I find it deeply meaningful to walk alongside people as they face life transitions and periods of distress, honoring their resiliency.
At the heart of my work, I love supporting people who feel a bit lost - helping them navigate endings and new beginnings - and discover more compassionate, authentic ways of relating to themselves and the world around them.