Meet the Family

Catherine ‘Cat’ Burgess

Graduate Level Intern

Pronouns: She/They

Cat is a queer neurodivergent counseling intern and student currently working toward their master’s in clinical mental health counseling at George Mason University. She loves making art in a variety of forms including crochet, painting, and special effects makeup. She enjoys time in nature, hiking, and spending time with their friends and family. She is also a pet parent to two wonderful cats.

Cat completed their undergraduate degree in Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Minoring in sociology, completing Naloxone training for the first time, and other experiences reawakened them to a call for social justice and has driven them to a career in mental health where they hope to provide care that is accessible, holistic, and rooted in empathy.

They are passionate about social justice, advocacy, decolonization, and harm reduction. They believe that healing individually and communally is essential for positive change and that one of the most effective ways to aid healing is through effecting positive change in ourselves and our environments. We do not exist in a vacuum so therapy cannot either.

She works to hold space for and affirm the experiences of those who have experienced medical, radicalized, religious, sexual, generational, and emotional traumas and primarily work with folks who are LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, and have endured severe trauma. They support clients in integrating harm reduction practices and coping with challenges related to substance use, self-harm, feeding and eating disorders and are passionate about integrating artistic, movement based, and other creative approaches to therapy. They hope to meet clients where they are and help co-create a space with them where safety can exist, and healing can happen.

Cat is proud to be a part of the Inclusive Therapists network.

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