About Kathleen Coughlin, M.Ed.

Kathy is accustomed to working with individuals with general adjustment issues, as well as with individuals who have complex and challenging health problems, and emotional adjustment issues related to such problems. She is especially sensitive to the demands placed on parents of disabled children, caretakers working with the elderly, and caretakers of, or individuals with terminal illness. She has particular interests in differential diagnosis and the mind-body connection, and utilizes a variety of approaches, including cognitive –behavior therapy, interpersonal therapy, clinical hypnotherapy, and mindfulness-based stress reduction practices to treat adults with either general life-adjustment issues, or major mood disorders (depression/anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD) and other stress-related conditions.

Specialties

Education & Certifications

Kathy Coughlin is a Master’s Level Clinician, dually licensed to practice as both a Mental Health Counselor and a Rehabilitation Counselor. She received her Master’s Degree (M.Ed., with a concentration in Counseling Psychology) from Cambridge College in 1986, and served on the faculty there from 1986-1993, teaching graduate level courses in Counseling Psychology.

Kathy is experienced both in teaching and in counseling individuals with severe disabilities and chronic complex medical/emotional disorders. Formerly a Special Education teacher, she was one of several teachers selected to help implement Chapter 766 in an institutional setting for severely multiply-handicapped youth, and she later went on to help develop, implement, and coordinate a community-based, education program for institutionalized children, adolescents, and young adults with severe medical, neuro-cognititve, and behavioral disorders.

Kathy worked for 23 years as a counselor for the State of Massachusetts Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, helping adults with physical, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities to identify their vocational strengths, and to pursue and achieve optimal employment and independent living goals. She is knowledgeable about the public vocational rehabilitation process, and is familiar with the variety of service delivery systems available to individuals in need of public assistance."