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D. Catherine Walker

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D. Catherine Walker, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist licensed in New York State with over a decade of experience providing compassionate therapy to diverse clients. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University at Albany, where she was trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on evidence-based treatments that work! She completed postdoctoral training at an intensive outpatient program for eating disorders. Her areas of expertise include treating eating, weight, and body image issues, PTSD, mood and anxiety disorders, women’s issues, and helping people through difficult life transitions, with a goal of providing gender and sexuality-affirming care. Her typical clientele are older adolescents and adults for individual therapy.

To learn more about Dr. Walker, you can watch her video and read her interview below.

What are your personal strengths as a practitioner?

A strength is that I push clients to move themselves out of their comfort zones in ways that help them stretch and grow. And even when we are working through difficult life situations, sessions often include joking and laughing and building connection.

What “tips” can you offer to colleagues just opening a practice?

There are definite ebbs and flows in client interest, so sometimes it’s a challenge to get through both the low and high periods. Making plans to buffer those things (e.g., consulting work through the Academy, teaching, etc.) has helped balance out those times for me.

How do you remind your patients of their strengths during the therapy process?

By pointing to prior examples of times they have done hard things, and grown, and changed.

Are you involved in other types of professional activities in addition to your private practice?

I am a full-time associate professor of psychology at Union College, a small liberal arts college in Schenectady, NY, where I teach and have an active research program on eating disorders, weight, and body image.

We would also like to know a little about you personally.

Who was your mentor?

I had a two-year research assistantship at Rutgers University with G. Terence Wilson, Ph.D. (now emeritus), and was mentored informally while there by Tom Hildebrandt, Psy.D. (who is now at Mt. Sinai), and completed my doctoral degree under the mentorship of Drew A. Anderson, Ph.D., at the University at Albany.

When not practicing CBT, what do you do for fun?

When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband and goofball of a toddler, getting outdoors, baking, and finding interesting ways to cook my CSA share veggies.

We are also interested in some of your views of CBT.

What do you think is the single most important thing CBT can do for your clients?

I think CBT empowers clients to make changes in their lives themselves, through everyday actions. It puts them in the driver’s seat, in many respects.

Where do you see the field of the behavioral therapies going over the next 3 to 5 years?

I think a lot of behavioral therapies are being tested for easier dissemination via digital technology (I don’t think AI will ever replace a good therapist-client relationship, though), and for use of machine learning to better predict who will be helped by what kind of intervention.

Finally, we would like to know your opinions about ABCT. 

How long have you been a member of ABCT?

Since around 2006.

How has ABCT helped you professionally?

I have really enjoyed my membership and connection with the Eating Disorders and Eating Behaviors SIG and now also with the Clinical Psychology at Liberal Arts Colleges SIG, especially, and it keeps me really at the forefront of current knowledge on cognitive behavioral interventions.

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What Is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of treatment that is based firmly on research findings.  It places emphasis on changing your cognitions (thoughts) or behaviors (actions) in order to effect change in how you feel. These approaches help people in achieving specific changes or goals.

Changes or goals might involve:

A way of acting: like smoking less or being more outgoing;
A way of feeling: like helping a person to be less scared, less depressed, or less anxious;
A way of thinking: like learning to problem-solve or get rid of self-defeating thoughts;
A way of dealing with physical or medical problems: like reducing back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.

Cognitive behavioral therapists usually focus more on the current situation and its solution, rather than the past. They concentrate on a person’s views and beliefs about their life. CBT is an effective treatment for individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. The goal of CBT is to help people improve and gain more control over their lives by changing behaviors that don’t work well to ones that do.

How to Get Help

If you are looking for help, either for yourself or someone else, you may be tempted to call someone who advertises in a local publication or who comes up from a search of the Internet. You may, or may not, find a competent therapist in this manner. It is wise to check on the credentials of a psychotherapist. It is expected that competent therapists hold advanced academic degrees. They should be listed as members of professional organizations, such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies or the American Psychological Association. Of course, they should be licensed to practice in your state. You can find competent specialists who are affiliated with local universities or mental health facilities or who are listed on the websites of professional organizations. You may, of course, visit our website (www.abct.org) and click on “Find a CBT Therapist”

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) is an interdisciplinary organization committed to the advancement of a scientific approach to the understanding and amelioration of problems of the human condition. These aims are achieved through the investigation and application of behavioral, cognitive, and other evidence-based principles to assessment, prevention, and treatment.