Catarina earned her Master's Degree in Social Work with a focus on Advanced Clinical Practice from Columbia University, after completing her Bachelor's Degree in Applied Psychology from New York University. She also holds a post-master's certificate in Advanced Assessment and Diagnosis. Over the course of her career, she has worked in family services, educational settings, and hospitals, including NYU Langone's inpatient pediatric unit and outpatient adolescent medicine center, as well as NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In these roles, she supported individuals, couples, and families through high-stress and complex life circumstances, strengthening her grounding in trauma-informed and relationally focused care.

In her current practice, Catarina provides therapy to adults, adolescents, and children, with a focus on anxiety, depression, trauma, relational issues, life transitions, self-esteem, and eating disorders. She uses a relational, integrative approach, drawing on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), narrative therapy, play therapy, and mindfulness techniques. 

Catarina strives to create a warm, nonjudgmental, and supportive environment where clients can feel genuinely seen and heard. She deeply values each client's unique experiences and offers a personalized, collaborative approach tailored to their individual needs and strengths. She is bilingual, native in both English and Portuguese