Kathleen Cates-Richardson, LMFT

Client-centered focus
Practical CBT skills
Experience with trauma

About Kathleen

Kathleen Cates-Richardson is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 16 years of experience. She works with people facing anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, addiction, trauma, and sleeping difficulties. Kathleen focuses on helping clients feel heard and understood in session. She creates a calm space where people can speak honestly about what they are facing.

Her approach blends client-centered care with practical techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. That means conversations often move between exploring feelings and trying small, concrete strategies to change unhelpful patterns. Emotionally-focused and existential ideas shape how she looks at attachment, meaning, and close relationships.

Clinically she has experience supporting people with intimacy-related concerns, grief, and recovery from domestic or substance-related problems. She also addresses issues like abandonment, adoption and foster care situations, aging concerns, autism and Asperger syndrome traits, and caregiver stress. Communication problems, body image, and coping after natural or human-caused disaster are also within her practice.

Kathleen holds an LMFT credential and is licensed in Iowa and Arizona. She works in English and is available to international clients. Her style is collaborative - she helps people set goals and pick steps that fit their life.

To begin, she asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions based on availability. Kathleen emphasizes steady, realistic progress rather than quick fixes.

How Kathleen’s approaches translate to online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and building a trusting connection so the client leads the pace and topic. Online sessions can follow that same rhythm, allowing people to describe their experience and set goals in a conversational way.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify thought and behavior patterns and then tries small experiments to shift them. In remote work this often looks like setting brief practice tasks between sessions and checking progress together. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) adds skills for emotional regulation and distress tolerance, which can be taught through step-by-step coaching and short exercises during calls.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss needs, goals, and preferences, and then suggest which methods to try first. If something doesn’t fit, adjustments are made together so the work stays useful and manageable.

Confirm current session options before booking, since specific formats aren’t listed in the biography. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, avoid travel time, and use shorter check-ins when needed. It also allows practicing skills around real routine moments, so strategies can be tested and refined between meetings.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

AddictionsRelationship issuesTrauma and abuseIntimacy-related issuesDepression

Also works with

Sleeping disorders

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDivorce and separationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEating and food-related issuesFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesFertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHoardingImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / loneliness Life purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisVeteran and Armed Forces IssuesMood disordersObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPhobiasPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-harmSex addictionSexual dysfunctionSocial anxiety and phobiaTrichotillomaniaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Existential TherapyJungian TherapyNarrative TherapySolution-Focused Therapy

Experience

16+ years

Credentials

Iowa, Arizona

Languages

English

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Kathleen help with?

She helps people coping with anxiety, depression, relationship problems, addictions, trauma and sleeping difficulties, plus related issues such as intimacy concerns and grief.

What is her therapeutic style like?

The approach is collaborative and client-centered, combining listening with practical strategies from CBT and DBT and reflective work from emotionally-focused and existential perspectives.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has 16 years of professional experience working in clinical settings and community care.

What credentials and location apply to her practice?

Kathleen holds an LMFT and is licensed in Iowa and Arizona while practicing from Iowa.

Which languages are supported and can international clients participate?

Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.

What session formats are available?

Please confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not specified in the biography and may vary by situation.

How does pricing work for sessions?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability, and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How do I get started working with her?

Select the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.