“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.
It will not lead you astray.”
It will not lead you astray.”
—(Rumi)
About Cathy
Practice
Psychotherapist + Educator + Consultant + Program Innovator & Administrator
Catherine (Cathy) D. Nugent is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and Board-certified psychodramatist and psychodrama trainer (TEP). Cathy has advanced clinical training in body-based and relational psychotherapy. In her clinical practice, she offers integrative psychotherapy for individuals, couples and groups.
Cathy is also a seasoned adult educator. She has formal academic training, as well as years of experience designing and facilitating educational events for students and professionals. Her teaching/learning approach is grounded in adult experiential learning theory, and incorporates four core components: theory, skills development, personal growth/self-care, and professional application.
A skilled program administrator and national leader, Cathy developed and administered complex policy, training, technical assistance and other U.S.-wide initiatives in behavioral health, in addition to her extensive work in psychodrama.
To view Cathy’s resume, click here
A therapist and educator who promotes the importance of self-care, Cathy keeps herself well through practicing yoga, reading, listening to music, enjoying the support of family and friends, and the companionship of her cat, Biggie.
Philosophy
Cathy’s teaching and practice is rooted in her belief that body, mind and spirit are intricately connected. Integral to Cathy’s work is her long-standing study of existential and transpersonal psychology, as well as yoga, mindfulness and diverse spiritual practices.
Cathy believes that connecting with the spark of spontaneity and creativity ignites healing and learning in a powerful and profound way: Brains and nervous systems can be rewired. Life narratives can be rewritten or given a transformational turn.
Process
Cathy helps clients and students access their innate and cultivated strengths and potentials for healing, learning, and personal and professional development. This process includes:
- drawing on the body’s wisdom for greater self-awareness;
- learning to focus the mind toward new, more affirming life narratives;
- opening the heart to give and receive lovingkindness;
- being receptive to messages from Self/Spirit/The Universe (as personally defined);
- developing the courage and skill to take wise and meaningful action.
Leadership
Teacher
From 2013-2019, Cathy was an adjunct faculty member with Johns Hopkins University’s graduate mental health counseling program. She designed and taught three well-received courses:
- Role-Play and Related Experiential Methods in Counseling
- Self-Care and Wellness for Counselors
- Spirituality as a Resource for Mental Health Counseling
Speaker
A respected and effective leader and workshop facilitator, Cathy is a highly sought-after conference presenter and workshop leader.
A recent highlight was the invitation to plan and lead a three-day pre-conference workshop, Psychodrama & Sociodrama: A Journey from Personal to Social Healing at the 2018 Taiwan Association for Psychodrama (TAP) Annual Conference: Social Healing: Dare to Dream. Cathy was honored to be the TAP Conference Plenary Presenter and Workshop Leader. After leading a three-day pre-conference workshop, she gave a presentation, Present Stories, Deeper Stories, Greater Stories: Action Methods for Personal and Social Healing, and led a large group sociodrama. [Here insert some of the Taiwan photos on the page]
Cathy’s Trip to Taiwan–February 2018
(Slideshow)
At the same Conference in Taiwan, Cathy executed an historic Memorandum of Agreement regarding psychodrama certification between the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry & Group Psychotherapy and the Taiwan Association for Psychodrama.
Cathy is also a regular conference presenter and workshop leader for the annual conferences of the ASGPP, the MAC-ASGPP, and the National Association of Social Workers/Maryland Chapter. She has also delivered plenary presentations and workshops to the:
- American Group Psychotherapy Association/Mid-Atlantic Chapter
- American Mental Health Counselors Association
- National Association of Social Workers Conference
Leader
Cathy is current President of the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. Before serving as President, Cathy held the posts of Ethics Chair, Admissions Chair, and Vice President.
Cathy has served – twice – as President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (MAC-ASGPP), was Chair of the ASGPP’s Evaluation Committee, and served on the ASGPP Nomination Committee.
As a former Executive Editor of the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy, Cathy used her expert knowledge of psychodrama and group psychotherapy to provide peer review, editorial recommendations and approval for the publication of submissions.
During her 20+ year tenure with the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (1992-2014), Cathy earned a national reputation as a thought leader on recovery and recovery-oriented services and systems. Cathy was recognized as one of SAMHSA’s lead architects for a new national behavioral health services paradigm: one that shifted away from a traditional, deficit-based model of behavioral health services toward a strength-based, trauma-informed and recovery-oriented approach. Click here to read recovery historian William White’s 2013 interview with Cathy about the recovery movement and her work at SAMHSA.
Other Highlights of Cathy’s Early Career
- Interpersonal Skills Training Project at the Johns Hopkins University School of Health Services: Using role-play and behavioral simulation, Cathy helped teach and evaluate practitioners’ interpersonal skills for working with patients.
- Maryland Hospital Education Institute: Developed training programs for health care professionals and organization development initiatives for health care organizations.
- Spring Grove Hospital: In 1978, Cathy met her first psychodrama trainer and mentor, Rene M. Clay. [Here insert photo of Cathy & Rene Clay.] After Rene’s untimely death, Cathy began a 10-year tenure at Spring Grove during which time she served successively as the Psychodrama Program Coordinator and Education Program Coordinator.
Education/Training
Cathy holds two Master of Science degrees from the Johns Hopkins University—one in Applied Behavioral Science and the other in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Cathy has pursued extensive specialized training in order to become a nationally certified psychodramatist and psychodrama trainer through the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherap.
Cathy has also completed Level 1 training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, an approach that elicits the body’s innate intelligence and works well with the psychodramatic method.
A certified Imago Relationship Therapist, Cathy has a deep respect for the sacred healing space that couples and groups can consciously co-create.
Cathy also completed a 200-hour yoga teacher program with University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine. She is a certified teacher of Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra, a form deep relaxation that facilitates a meditative and healing state of consciousness.