ABOUT
Dr. Cat Smith, LCSW
Hello, I’m Dr. Cat Smith, a NYC-based psychotherapist with 15+ years of experience in trauma, blending Jungian depth psychology with neuroscience-informed methods. I offer individual telehealth sessions, BilateralDepth™ Integration, workshops, global retreats, and a writer’s residency.
I have been in private practice since 2011, and in 2023 I dedicated my practice to serving New York City residents.
Community. Service. Meditation. Creativity. Each of these has had a profound impact on my personal journey and my professional life as a therapist. They are what led me down this path, and why I love this work.
Catherine Smith LCSW, PhD
Community
Service
Meditation
Creativity
MY PRACTICE
Therapy for NYC Adults
Whether you're easing emotional stress, working through past memories, or building healthier communication and problem-solving skills, my approach blends evidence-based methods tailored to you.
I work with neurodivergent adults, people navigating breast cancer treatment, and those dealing with trauma, anxiety, or depression. I also love working with other therapists and healing professionals who need their own space to process and recharge.
I continue to engage in personal retreats, studying yoga and meditation techniques that make a perspective of compassion and loving-kindness possible. I participate in professional training and conferences as new treatment approaches emerge, so my skill set as a therapist is continually evolving to best meet my clients' needs.
RESEARCH
The Human-Canine Bond
When I began the PhD program at Pacifica, I also adopted my dog, Daisy Bear. The heart-opening joy she has brought into my life has been positively unimaginable. The process of training Daisy and the range of unexpected emotional benefits that followed inspired me to focus my dissertation on better understanding the human-canine bond.
My research focuses on the human-canine bond within prison dog training programs (PDPs), in which incarcerated people live with and train dogs for a range of service-oriented roles. These programs have been shown to support emotional development, build responsibility, and reduce recidivism.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
A life rooted in giving back
My commitment to service grew out of one of the most defining experiences of my life. In 2005, while attending Tulane University and working on my Master's thesis with the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamshala, India, Hurricane Katrina arrived and took my home and belongings.
It was the first time I had experienced real personal loss. What struck me most was the genuine warmth and loving-kindness shown by the Tibetan community, despite the severity of their own circumstances. It was contagious.
I returned to New Orleans with a strong sense of thankfulness and a determination to immerse myself in the grassroots recovery efforts taking shape around the city. By turning my focus toward helping others rather than my own losses, I found meaning in the devastation. As so often happens, I went to help and came back having gained far more than I could ever have given. I still find that to be true today.
New Orleans, 2005
New Orleans Kid Camera Project.
Co-founded with two fellow Tulane MSW students, the NOKCP was a social justice art project supporting children affected by Hurricane Katrina in expressing and processing their experiences through photography, creative writing, and mixed media.
Haiti, 2013
Youth Media Initiative
In Riviere Froide, just outside Port-au-Prince, I co-directed a youth media program that blended social work and the arts. Participants documented their lives through photography and visual storytelling. GoPros and a field trip to the Caribbean Sea were highlights, offering young people rare opportunities to travel and experience the sea.
CURRENT INITIATIVE, 2025 - 2026
Cambodia Children's Fund, Youth Media and Podcast Studio
At the close of 2025, I had the privilege of visiting Cambodia Children's Fund (CCF), an organization that has spent over twenty years transforming the lives of children and families from the Steung Meanchey community through education, health care, leadership development, and pathways to meaningful employment.
I am thrilled to be supporting CCF's new arts-based youth leadership initiative. The Youth Media and Podcast Studio will amplify young voices so that stories of resilience, leadership, and change are told by the people who live them. At the same time, it equips students with communication, digital literacy, and media production skills that prepare them for higher education and today's workforce.
CCF already has strong foundations in place: proven youth leadership programs, a track record of outstanding student stories, and alumni now studying multimedia and filmmaking. This studio connects those strengths into a dedicated space where young people share their own stories and perspectives.
Our first fundraising goal of $17,000 has been reached.