Katherine O'Connell

Katherine strives to help her clients heal and grow through the challenges of life. We all face challenges – the intimacy of relationships, the trauma of losses and pain, and interpersonal conflicts in all forms.  She believes in the life-changing ability that can  help in individual therapy when helping adults who are experiencing relationship or sexual difficulties or mental health concerns.  Katherine believes in respecting each person’s individual history, experiences, values, and beliefs and their connections with the people in their lives.  

Katherine has clinical experience in working with neurodivergent adults, individuals with polytraumatic history, and individuals with a history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. These experiences have taught her to not limit people by labels and to know that diagnoses fail to capture each unique person’s strengths and brilliance. 

She particularly values the role sexuality and intimacy holds for individuals; it is a core part of the human experience yet so rarely addressed, even in most therapy offices.  Katherine enjoys working with individuals around issues of sexuality and how these issues interplay with trauma, loss, grief, and suicidality. She enjoys working to identify drivers of maladaptive coping behavior and negative self-distortions and use cognitive behavioral therapy to help address them. She believes in using acceptance and commitment therapy skills to help address those aspects of life that cannot be changed, such as illnesses, certain health conditions, and past betrayals.  Infidelity and betrayal trauma can bring many painful feelings that linger resembling posttraumatic stress.  Collaborating with the client and using the Posttraumatic Growth Model for Intimate Betrayal, Katherine enjoys creating a space to encourage healing and recover from previous moral injuries.

About Katherine

Katherine attended Mary Baldwin University for her undergraduate degree studying history and international relations before joining the Army.  She served for 10 years during which time she was intrigued by the mental health toll of geographical separations upon couples and families, the trauma of war upon servicemembers, and increased suicidality in veterans.  She completed two Master of Science degrees studying Psychology at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Psychological Sciences at Seattle Pacific University in Washington.  She is currently a fourth-year doctoral student at Seattle Pacific University and is on track to receive her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in May 2025. When Katherine is not studying or working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children camping, hiking, and travelling.

Education & Credentials

Master of Science in Psychological Sciences (M.S), Seattle Pacific University

Washington State Agency-Affiliated Counselor

Washington State Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate 

Publications

O’Connell, K. L., Jacobson, S. V., Ton, A. T., & Law, K. C. (2022). Association between race and socioeconomic factors and suicide-related 911 call rate. Social Science & Medicine, 306, 115106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115106

Marks, R.B., Wee, J.Y., Jacobson, S.V., Hashimoto, K., O’Connell, K.L., Golden, S.A., Baker, P.M., & Law, K.C. (2022). The role of the lateral habenula in suicide: A call for further exploration. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.812952

Moreira, N., O’Connell, K.L., Wee, J.Y., Lin, Y.C., Marks, R.B., Jacobson, S.V., Hassler, M., Layton, J.L., O’Boyle, M., Hashimoto, K.H., Ton, A.T., & Knight, J., Law, K.C. (in press). A qualitative examination of mental health needs and managing suicide risk in COVID-19 frontline medical professionals. Inquiries Journal.

Lin, Y.-C., O’Connell, K.L., & Law, K. C. (2023). Moderating roles of grit and locus of control on rumination and suicidality. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jad.2023.02.148

Lin, Y.-C., Wee, J.Y., M., Marks, R.B., O’Connell, K. L., Hassler, M., & Law, K.C. (2022). Shame-proneness and suicidal ideation: The role of depressive and anger rumination. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 7, 100303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100303

Vaydich, J. L., Anderson, E. K., O’Connell, K.L., Moreira, N., Deonier, C. F. (2023). Parenting during the second year of COVID-19: Positive and negative parental experiences in the USA. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science.

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology

Society for Military Psychology |Student Member

Society of Clinical Psychology | Student Member

Joint Special Operations Association Member                                                                                    

Veteran of Foreign Wars (#9248193) | Member

 If you would like to set up an appointment with Katherine please reach out today!