Catherine Filary

I am a licensed therapist in Michigan and a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor with ten years of experience — and the road that shaped me as a clinician runs through two very specific places. For three years, I worked at the VA, where I developed a deep, hands-on understanding of trauma in its most complex and layered forms. For five years after that, I worked at Hope Network, an outpatient program serving individuals with limited access to resources, where I learned something that has stayed with me ever since: that genuine clinical expertise, offered with real intention, can change the trajectory of someone's life — even when the odds are stacked against them. I specialize in substance use and addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, and the lasting impact of unhealthy relationships. My work is grounded in CBT and driven by a belief that every person — regardless of their circumstances — has the capacity to become more confident, more grounded, and more fully themselves.

I lead with connection — because without it, nothing else works. I've sat with veterans carrying invisible wounds, with people fighting addiction who had been written off by every system around them, and with individuals trying to rebuild their lives from the ground up after relationships that left them doubting their own worth. What I've learned across all of it is that people don't open up because a therapist is technically skilled. They open up because they feel genuinely met. I bring that kind of presence into every session. My approach is grounded in CBT and adapted to wherever each client is — their personality, their history, their pace. I work with a wide range of people and I genuinely connect across differences. That connection isn't a soft skill. It's the foundation of everything.

Walk in as you are. Seriously — no prepared speech, no polished explanation of your situation required. I've worked with people who came in certain they were too complicated, too far gone, or too different from anyone I'd ever helped before. They were wrong, every time. Our first session is a real conversation: I'll ask about your life, your struggles, and what you're hoping might be different. And I'll actually listen — not just to what you say, but to what's underneath it. My goal by the end of that first hour is that you leave feeling something you might not have expected walking in: seen, respected, and genuinely hopeful. Because I've watched people transform their lives from some very dark starting points — and I bring that conviction into every single session.