Dr. Karen Katunich

Dr. Karen Katunich helps people who are dealing with strong emotions, mood changes, and life stress. She focuses on practical steps people can use when anger, depression, anxiety, or relationship strain make daily life harder. Dr. Katunich is a Pennsylvania psychologist with decades of clinical experience, and she works in a straightforward, respectful way that makes room for each person’s story.

She trained at Virginia Commonwealth University and completed clinical internship training at the Pittsburgh Consortium-Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her background includes roles as a Senior Clinician in a mood disorders clinic and Director of Resident Psychotherapy Training at a psychiatric institute. She also served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy, then at local colleges and universities.

Her work emphasizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy while also drawing on client-centered approaches, dialectical behavior skills, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. In sessions she aims to listen first, then help people identify patterns and try small, manageable changes. The focus is on skills that reduce emotional flooding and improve decision making under stress.

Dr. Katunich has spent about 40 years working in clinical and educational settings. That range of experience informs how she adapts strategies to fit different lives and routines. She supports adults facing mood disorders, trauma histories, addictions, and other challenges by building clear goals and testing what helps in real life.

Her care is organized around respect, practical tools, and collaboration. People who want direct feedback, skill-building, and steady guidance about anger and mood concerns may find this approach helpful.

How her approaches translate to online care

Dr. Katunich uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Client-Centered Therapy in ways that suit many people. CBT looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions affect one another and focuses on small, practical changes to reduce distress. Client-centered work emphasizes being heard and shaping the work around what matters most to the person.

She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. These techniques are useful when strong anger or mood swings make it hard to think clearly or keep relationships steady.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will collaborate with each person to choose and adapt methods based on needs, goals, and preferences. That might mean focusing on skills practice, exploring patterns, or combining methods over time.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know how sessions are delivered. Online care can make it easier to schedule therapy around work, reduce travel time, and use brief check-ins when days are busy. Some formats also allow sessions without video or with simpler bandwidth needs to fit different routines.