Hello! I am Katherine (Katie) Tommaso, LCSW, LCADC, CCS. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive experience working in a clinical setting with diverse populations ranging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, intensive outpatient setting for co-occurring disorders, women's residential, substance use disorder treatment programs, outpatient programs, and for the last six years in a private practice setting working with elders and their families. I help individuals navigate through life's curveballs and roadblocks with understanding and compassion. I believe everybody has the ability to function at their optimal capacity of mind, body, and spirit and I focus on a Wellness Model and a whole self approach to help motivate individuals to achieve their goals. My passion is to aid and encourage others to find their strengths so they can see their full potential. Together, we can strategize about what to do to help you to manage your areas for improvement and regulate emotions and related feelings. I also integrate mindfulness, psychoeducation, and self-assessment techniques to help you develop a stronger relationship with yourself and others. Whether you are dealing with overwhelming relationship issues, grief and loss, life's challenges, or cycles of anxiety and depression, you are not alone. I am here to help. Seeking therapy can feel scary but you are making the right choice. You deserve a safe space to heal, grow, and obtain your optimal wellness. In our sessions together, I will meet you with encouragement and evidence-based techniques so you can overcome the barriers and habits keeping you from thriving to be the best version of yourself. I look forward to working together!
Highlights
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
My counseling style is authentic, integrative, holistic, supportive, genuine, empowering, perceptive, and mindful. Combined with a sense of understanding, my approach incorporates humanistic, existential, psychodynamic, strengths-based, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. I am focused on the here and now and I want to know what is important to you and how we can move you towards your mental wellness goals. I am so excited that you are choosing to make a positive choice in your life today and I am here to support and empower you through the journey.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
I utilize evidence-based therapies and interventions. Some of these include Client-Centered Approach, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),Existential Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Kubler-Ross Model, Motivational Interviewing, Psychodynamic Therapy, Psychoeducation, Social and Emotional Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Strengths-Based Therapy.I am an expert in Psychotherapy and although you may not know it, you are an expert in yourself. I believe you already have many of the answers inside of you. Your treatment plan will be individualized and tailored to fit your specific needs and we will work together to obtain your goals.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I have experience working with a broad range of individuals from all walks of life including adolescents, adults, older adults, military, women, caregivers. I have worked with clients who struggle with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, substance use, addiction, trauma, social anxiety, grief and loss, dementia, mood disorders, and psychosis. I also have experience with individuals who have traumatic brain injury, mild/moderate cognitive impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability. Often, I find that it is not only important for the individual to seek treatment but also the caregiver and support system.
Lifebulb accepts these insurance providers. Your sessions rates are determined by your specific plan. Don't see your insurance provider here? We may still be able to match you with the right therapist for you. Call or email us now!
We offer an affordable self pay option for clients opting not to use insurance.
Telehealth appointments throughout New Jersey. Call us for details on in-person availability.One of the most recent cases I worked on involved a caregiver and their spouse. It was clear the caregiver had sacrificed their own mental health and self care to help the family unit survive while the spouse had life threatening medical concerns. I worked with this individual over a series of sessions to understand the family dynamic, changes within the family unit, and incorporate aspects of care back into their own life in order to perform at all of their roles.The individual was able to successfully go through a healing process that allowed them to go back to work and experience a healthy family unit again.
Though every person’s situation is unique, I generally approach the counseling process using empowerment theory and a strengths-based framework to help my clients understand their behavior, habits, and motivations for their actions-both positive and negative.
My first session is not just a time for demographic gathering. It is important that my clients understand that therapy is a process that can work for them and their needs. I spent time getting to know who they are as a person and what they want to achieve. Time is valuable so it is vital to the process to develop a working relationship between therapist and client.
I have been interested in the mind and how it works ever since I was a child. Life has taught me that no matter who we are, we all have a story. Often times, life's greatest lessons come with hardship. My love for people motivates me everyday to be an encouragement during those times. I believe the words of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who said, "The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
Online Therapy
