We are two "been there, done that" trauma-trained mental health therapists here to help our fellow therapists get gritty.
Meet the voices
BEHIND THE GRITTY THERAPIST
Meet Cathy
Cathy Schweitzer, MS, LIMHP specializes in treating trauma resolution and attachment problems in children and adolescents. Ms. Schweitzer is a co-founder of the Attachment and Trauma Center of Nebraska in Omaha Nebraska. She is part of the treatment team that created the Integrative Attachment Trauma Protocol for the treatment of attachment trauma in children. She has co-authored books, chapters, and articles related to the treatment of attachment trauma. Ms. Schweitzer is also the co-founder of the Attachment and Trauma Training Center Institute., an organization dedicated to training clinicians in the EMDR and Family Therapy Integrative Team Treatment as well as training parents in the Integrative Parenting Approach.
Ms. Schweitzer is a certified EMDR therapist and consultant and provides consultation to professionals across the country. Ms. Schweitzer has also been invited to present at numerous professional conferences and workshops around the country and has also participated in training public school personnel in the area of trauma and attachment. Ms. Schweitzer spent 15 years in both the private and public school setting as a school counselor.
Meet Stefanie
I’m Stefanie—co-owner of The Cord and a lifelong learner in all things human wellness. My journey started as a middle school teacher and counselor, then grew into private practice alongside my partner, Cathy Schweitzer. Together, we co-founded the Attachment and Trauma Center of Nebraska and helped create the Integrative Team Treatment for Attachment and Trauma in Children Protocol. In 2020, Cathy and I launched The Cord, bringing together like-minded therapists to support individuals and families from every angle. In 2025, we launched a supportive community for provisional mental health therapists in our community. From that, The Gritty Therapist was born.
I’m EMDR certified, Level 3 trained in Somatic Experiencing, and TBRI trained. Deeper than the credentials and trainings, I bring grit, curiosity, and a deep respect for the healing process of not only my clients but the growing process of clinicians.
Outside the office, I love all things movement, mindset, and mountains—whether hiking, lifting, dancing, or adventuring in our camper with my husband, three boys, and our dogs. Foods I can’t live without? Authentic Mexican food, homemade ice cream, and all the coffee!
Between us, we’ve logged thousands of hours in the therapy chair while juggling real life, raising families, building a practice, second-guessing ourselves, + learning grit the hard way.
THE MESSY, BEAUTIFUL MIDDLE
Real talk: Therapist Edition
“Way back in my first year, I had this kiddo who’d been through a lot, and one day he got mad… like, really mad.
He started tearing up my office and then spotted what I had stashed under my desk—mac & cheese cups I’d kept from working with another client on swallowing. Next thing I know, he’s ripping them open and throwing powdered cheese and noodles everywhere. Three cups later, my office looked like a Kraft crime scene. Meanwhile Stef is texting from the office next door:
‘Do you want me to call the police?’
I’m like, ‘No, no, I’ve got it’… but then the kid blocked the door. Stef texts again: ‘Do you want me to call now?’ Me: ‘Yeah, you probably should.’
The police show up, tell me to open the door. I’m like, ‘If I could open the door, I would.’ They ask for the key, and I realize it’s been in my pocket the whole time.
Looking back, all I can do is laugh. That was the day I learned therapy doesn’t happen in a bubble—it happens in the messy, macaroni-filled real world.“
–Cathy
“In our very first year, our supervisor gave us this couple to see. Cathy took the wife, I (Stef) took the husband. We were terrified new provisionals, over-preparing, writing down everything, praying we wouldn’t mess it up.
A few weeks in, Cathy’s client, the wife, leans over and says, ‘I need to tell you something’…of course Cathy is all nervous of what disclosure is about to take place…
‘Hey, can you tell Stef she’s been calling my husband the wrong name?’
Poor Cathy thought it was going to be some giant disclosure, and instead it was just… me, calling the man by the wrong name for weeks. Weeks! Cathy comes down to my office to break the news, and we both nearly died. Two brand-new therapists spinning this tiny mistake into a full-blown crisis.”
–Stef
Fun Facts About Stef
Jazzercise instructor for 19 years
Reads self-help books for fun…she never reads fiction (sorry Cathy)
She would choose the mountains over the beach anyday
Boy mom to 3 boys (and absolutely loves it!)
Fun Facts About Cathy
Denver Broncos #1 fan
She’s a ferocious reader. Fiction + mystery (sorry Stef, no self-help books here)
She is a beach and mountain girl
Grandma to five grandchildren (who are the light of her life!)