Dr. Catarina Durante Bergue Alves Licensed Psychologist

When making the decision to seek help, in whatever form, we can often feel vulnerable and bare. Taking that first step and engaging in the process of therapy can be incredibly challenging, and as a therapist I feel honored to be entrusted with this responsibility. My intention is to approach our work together with openness, care, and genuine curiosity. My work is rooted in deep listening, transparency, and present moment awareness. I offer a safe and accountable space in which my clients’ can see, hear, and experience themselves more genuinely, with less defenses. An important part of supporting my clients’ healing involves appreciating the complexity of human experience, and piecing together the emotional, physical, neurological, relational, cultural, and societal components that contribute to my clients’ present concerns. There is no discrete solution, all these pieces are interconnected in the micro and macro levels - cultivating awareness and understanding of this brings forth change.

• New York, Licensed Psychologist, 026454

I have worked as a therapist for over 15 years, and I am absolutely passionate about this work. I am intentional about increasing my clients’ present moment awareness in a non-judgement way, and together we ask what can we find when we allow ourselves to feel. I value transparency and genuineness – I strive to cultivate spaces in which my clients’ can trust their judgement rather than relying on mine. I intentionally bring humor and curiosity to the work I do, together with a boundless amount of tea. I earned my PhD in Counseling Psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and I am a licensed psychologist in NY. I have worked as a clinician multiple community, hospital, clinic, and university settings. Throughout my scientist-practitioner training, I specialized in trauma, gender-based violence, sex trafficking, and relationship and attachment counseling. I also have extensive experience working with children and adolescents, and enjoy working with this population very much – I find the unbound curiosity in which children approach the world and the brave resistance of teens thrilling to work with. I also enjoy working with adults, particularly regarding trauma, life transitions (including parenthood, changing or re-thinking careers, gender identity, relationships), and overall psychological distress. In essence, I enjoy supporting others when they feel lost within themselves, navigating endings and beginnings, and learning new ways of engaging with their words that is less constricted by self-doubt and self-criticism.