Katherine Whitley, Psy.D., LP, HSP-P

Bio

Clinical Interests
My clinical practice centers on trauma-informed and trauma-focused interventions, with a particular focus on supporting marginalized and minoritized populations. A significant part of my work involves helping clients process and improve their familial, romantic, and friend relationships, often by exploring attachment styles and developing healthier connection patterns. I aim to support and empower individuals in cultivating self-compassion, enhancing communication and boundary-setting skills, and engaging in meaningful identity exploration and development. I often facilitate processing and teach coping skills to navigate various life transitions and change. I have extensive experience in treating depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and grief, employing evidence-based approaches to foster healing and resilience. Beyond direct client care, I am committed to the professional growth of the field through supervision and training, contributing to the development of skilled and compassionate clinicians. I also have a passion for outreach and mental health promotion and de-stigmatization on campus.

Counseling Style
My approach to therapy is rooted in building warm and trusting relationships in order to foster openness, authenticity, collaboration, and respect between myself and my clients. My theoretical orientation focuses on attachment and integrates humanistic, interpersonal, and psychodynamic approaches. I particularly enjoy narrative-based therapy and mindfulness interventions. I recognize each client is unique and may need services that are tailored specifically to their needs and therefore I draw from CBT, DBT, and ACT as well. As a clinician with various privileged identities, I think it is important to bring discussions of power, privilege, oppression, and social justice into the therapy space to deepen the therapeutic relationship and explore students’ experiences at a PWI. I believe each client is an expert on themselves and their own lived experiences and I am honored to have clients trust me with their stories.

Personal
I find my own mental health is positively impacted by spending time outside in nature, so I love long walks, hiking, and biking. I enjoy spending time with my partner, game nights with friends, curling up with my cats and a good book, and baking to satisfy my love of dessert and all things chocolate.