About

You know there’s a better life waiting for you…

You’re tight right now. Your mind is loud. Your sleep isn’t great.

There are things you have wanted for a long time. Maybe you’re tired of overthinking everything or sick of dwelling on the past. Perhaps you want to improve your relationships or increase your self-confidence? Or maybe there are things you have been avoiding, like making space for dating or making a life change. But your current state leaves you feeling worn down, overwhelmed, and drained.

Together, we will work to harness that strength that has gotten you this far, which has made you a great student, employee, or athlete, and move you in the direction of self-growth and personal improvement. Our work together is going to be the next step in your success and achievement.

I work with adults aged 22-38 looking to develop personally and professionally. My clients are looking to overcome feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and past trauma. Many of my clients are driven, high-achieving adults who have achieved big things academically, professionally, and athletically and have lofty expectations for themselves. But they feel overwhelmed with the weight of their expectations, drive for achievement, fears of failure, people-pleasing behaviors, and struggle with self-confidence. They frequently describe themselves as overthinkers, perfectionists and feel paralyzed with decision making and beginning projects. Many of them struggle to accept feedback and criticism in the workplace and find socializing with new people exhausting.

You are a hard-working, successful individual, but working hard and achieving success doesn’t always translate into feeling happy. Sometimes our greatest strength, our belief that hard work equals improvement, can work against us and lead to feelings of inadequacy and never feeling pleased with what we create or how we present ourselves.

How I can help…

I help my clients disentangle their anxious thoughts and learn new skills to manage their anxiety to feel less anxious.

Our work will explore feelings of shame, self-doubt, and fear of failure so you can have more insight into what is actually giving you that dread feeling and causing you to bounce your knee and rip your nails. We’re going to learn new ways of thinking that will help your thoughts be more grounded in what is most likely going to happen instead of prepping for the apocalypse. We’re going to label your emotions so you can better understand what you’re feeling and the cause of your emotions. You’ll better understand them, yourself and, if you choose, have better language and understanding to communicate them to others.

We’re also going to put that bad sh*t that might have happened in your past behind you. If experiences or failures prevent you from living fully and happily in the present, we’re going to resolve them so you can move forward.

I’m an athlete, and my athletic background makes me a better therapist.

Would you believe I was a professional fencer and member of the United States Women’s Saber National Fencing Team… and hold five world championship titles??

My athletic past makes me different from other clinicians. I’m a professionally trained athlete and therapist. I have experienced big successes and big failures, and I use those experiences and what I learned from them to fuel my therapy style. I believe in teamwork. I am fully invested in your success, and I want to help you get wherever you want to go. I will listen to you without judgment, provide support, help you view things from a fresh perspective, and help you identify the next steps you can take to meet your goals. I will hold you accountable and support you along the journey of reaching your goals.

About Me

Hi, I’m Caity.

My mission is to help adults overcome overthinking, perfectionism, self-doubt, and people-pleasing, so they can learn to live fearlessly, enjoy the present, and be unapologetically themselves.

I went into therapy for the first time at 16. I started fencing at 9 and won my first women’s saber open at 15. As I progressed with my fencing career, I began to have increased fears of failure. I started having anxiety attacks and waking up in the middle of the night with night terrors. I wanted to be successful so badly, and I thought I just needed to work harder. But the harder I worked, the more anxious and fearful I felt. My performance suffered, which only increased my anxiety.

My coaches would say, “Caity, just have fun” or “just relax.” But it felt impossible to have fun when my entire career and dreams of being a world champion and one day making the Olympics were riding on every match and competition. I was so nervous!

A family friend referred me to a therapist who worked with Nike runners. This was a turning point for me. With the help of a therapist (and subsequent therapists), I confronted my fears of failure, discarded my unhelpful thinking patterns, focused on the present, and approached each day individually, and competed with confidence and fearlessness. Through therapy, I also transitioned out of sports and into adulthood with confidence and direction. Every day, I am grateful for the opportunity to create the same change for my clients.

My Background

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I moved to the East Coast to go to Penn State on an athletic scholarship, and I have stayed on this coast ever since. After retiring from fencing, I worked in fashion for a few years before going back to school and getting my master’s in rehabilitation and mental health counseling from Hunter College.

After school, I completed an internship at West Point Military Academy Center for Enhanced Performance, worked on a research project applying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for at-risk youth, and worked at a community health clinic in Harlem for three years. I have also completed numerous postmaster training programs in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (9 months through the Beck Institute), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), EMDR (50 hours training +13 hours supervision through Dr. Zangwill), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

When I am not in session with my clients, I spend my time playing with my dog, exercising, crafting, spending quality time with friends and family, playing tennis, and attending therapy.

Ready for the better life waiting for you?

Call me today to schedule your free 15-minute consultation: (845) 418-3239.