Dr. Catherine Alvarez, Ph.D., LMHC
Florida · 17 years in practice
Dr. D. uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy as a key part of her approach to help people manage stress, anxiety, mood shifts, and relationship pain.
License and registration
- LMHC, Florida
- MH23606 · expires March 2027
- NPI
- 1154915486 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 17
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Catherine
Dr. Catherine Alvarez, Ph.D. uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy as a key part of her approach to help people manage stress, anxiety, mood shifts, and relationship pain. She is a Florida-licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with 17 years of experience.
Her style is straightforward and warm, aimed at people who want practical ways to feel steadier day to day. She draws on several evidence-informed methods to match each person's needs. That can include acceptance-based techniques to help a person live by their values, attachment-focused work to clarify close relationship patterns, and cognitive-behavioral strategies to change unhelpful thoughts and habits.
Background and approach
Sessions focus on what is happening now and on small steps clients can take between meetings. Dr. Alvarez has worked with a wide range of concerns, including addiction, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting strain, sleep and eating issues, career stress, and symptoms of bipolar disorder.
She also supports people dealing with abandonment, chronic illness, caregiver stress, and communication problems. Her practice pays attention to both emotional experience and practical coping skills. Her manner is client-centered and collaborative.
She listens for what matters most and helps people set clear, achievable goals. Treatment plans are adapted over time to reflect what is helping and what needs to change. Sessions can include talk work, behavioral assignments, emotion-focused exercises, and skills practice.
Dr. Alvarez welcomes people who want a therapist who is both direct and compassionate, and who believes steady progress is possible one step at a time.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Catherine lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Anger management
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Catherine names
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Gottman Method
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
How emotion-focused and value-based work fits online
Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people name and shift difficult emotions in the moment, which can change how they respond to stress and relationship strain. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches practical skills for living by your values while making room for painful thoughts and feelings, useful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and helps people develop more supported ways of relating to others.Choosing the right approach is part of therapy. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods best match their goals, needs, and preferences. That plan can change over time as progress is made or priorities shift.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to work on these approaches. Video calls let people practice emotion-focused exercises with real-time feedback. Phone sessions can be simpler when a quieter, no-video check-in works better. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, coaching prompts, or homework support between sessions. Together these options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family life, or travel without losing continuity of care.
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Questions people ask
What concerns does this therapist address?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, sleep and eating concerns, parenting strain, bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and related challenges.
What is her therapeutic style like?
The approach is collaborative and direct. She uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy alongside client-centered listening and practical skill-building so clients can try new ways of coping between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
She has 17 years of professional experience working with a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Florida LMHC, which stands for Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and her practice is based in Florida.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages or with international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she is open to working with international clients.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How does cost work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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