CatholicPsych Institute
CatholicPsych Institute integrates Catholic faith and psychology through mentorship, clinician training, and formation resources for individuals, professionals, and clergy. Founded by Catholic psychologist Dr. Greg Bottaro, the Institute's work rests on the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism — an approach that meets the whole person rather than managing a set of symptoms. Its team includes clinicians and Certified Mentors trained in that model.
Apr 21, 2026 | Anxiety, Catholic Psychology, Featured Content
When You Can’t Stop Needing the Room to Notice You. Here’s Why. You have tried to stop. You have told yourself it does not matter what people think. You have prayed for humility, confessed vanity, and genuinely meant it every time. And then you walk into...
Apr 15, 2026 | Anxiety, Featured Content
Wanting to be seen is normal. It’s deeply human. But there’s a difference between wanting to be seen and needing to be seen. When you need to be seen, there can be a feeling of anxiety flooding your body at the thought of going unnoticed. I remember being at a...
Apr 8, 2026 | Borderline Personality Disorder, Catholic Psychology, Featured Content
For those on the outside, witnessing the choices and behavior of someone with a Borderline defense can feel utterly confusing. Why do they “blow up” over a simple question? Why do they say they love me one day, then threaten to leave the next? Their reactions seem so...
Apr 4, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Family, Featured Content, Parenting
You’re made to teach one subject to your children. Now that may feel intimidating, especially if school wasn’t something you excelled in. Just the simple reference to being a teacher may give you anxiety because you may not have excelled in chemistry or history. And...
Apr 1, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Featured Content, Healing, Popular
Recently, I was seeing a Mentee who was struggling to break a habit that was causing a lot of spiritual, emotional, and relational pain. When we started working together, he walked me through his healing journey and all the places he looked for healing before finding...
Mar 27, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Faith, Family, Featured Content, Parenting, Popular
In healthy relationships, rupture and repair lead to growth. You fight. You reconcile. You understand each other more deeply. Trust consolidates. Peace increases. But in borderline relational cycles, repair does not heal. It resets. And then it happens again. And...
Mar 25, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Faith, Family, Featured Content, Parenting, Popular
“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” For many, especially those who struggle with emotional instability, scrupulosity, or intense spiritual swings, that command feels overwhelming. Perfect? As God is perfect? It can sound like a demand for flawless moral...
Mar 18, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Family, Featured Content, Parenting, Popular
My four-year-old daughter was standing at the edge of the pool. She wanted to jump. She just wasn’t sure if she could do it. So she looked back at me. She didn’t ask a question. She didn’t say she’s afraid. She just searched my face. Wondering… Am I watching? Am I...
Mar 4, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Dating, Featured Content, Popular, Relationships
It’s become commonplace in a romantic relationship for one person to say to the other, “I don’t know what I’d do without you!” On one hand, it’s really nice to know you’re making a difference in someone’s life. Especially someone you deeply care about. But when we...
Feb 28, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Dating, Featured Content, Popular, Relationships
You’re doing the work. You’re confronting your not-so-ideal habits. You’re naming your wounds. You’re in therapy, mentorship, spiritual direction—or maybe all three. You’re growing. And your partner isn’t. They’re staying stuck. They’re avoiding help. They’re not...
Feb 24, 2026 | Catholic Psychology, Dating, Featured Content, Popular, Relationships
Five Questions Every Couple Should Ask Themselves Not all connection is good connection. Sometimes the wires run too deep – become too entangled – for the connection to be truly stable. Consider this couple: John and Rebecca have been together for two years....
Feb 18, 2026 | Anxiety, Catholic Psychology, Featured Content, Popular, Relationships
Finding the line between a free gift of self and giving to regulate a deep inner anxiety. From the beginning of our spiritual formation, we’re told to follow Jesus. To imitate Him. To do what He does. We’re supposed to pick up our cross and follow after Him....
Feb 11, 2026 | Featured Content, Narcissism, Popular
There’s a line from Jerry Maguire that became incredibly famous. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert) Tom Cruise (playing Jerry Maguire) finds his wife (Renée Zellweger) and tries to win her back with a big speech. At the end of his message he said these now...
Feb 4, 2026 | Featured Content, Narcissism, Popular
St. John Paul II is essential to providing deep and transformative care because he gives us the most complete understanding of the human person we have. Not just spiritually. Not just morally. Not just psychologically. But all of it, integrated, together. He helps us...
Jan 21, 2026 | Featured Content, Narcissism, Popular
A pattern of spiritual narcissism is a really touchy, sensitive, and difficult topic. It’s one of the hardest things I talk about…ever. And it’s one of the most difficult things to work on with people who come to us for help. Spiritual narcissism is when religion and...
Jan 16, 2026 | Featured Content, Narcissism, Popular
One of the reasons spiritual narcissism is so difficult to see is because it is so close to the truth. It borrows the language of Christianity. It borrows the posture of sacrifice. It borrows the call to die to self, to serve others, to pick up your cross and follow...
Jan 14, 2026 | Featured Content, Narcissism, Popular
Every January, people make resolutions. We want to change. We want to do better. We want to pray more, be healthier, be more disciplined, be more loving. And yet, so often, the same patterns return. The reason isn’t desire or willpower (though both impact the ability...
Jan 7, 2026 | Faith, Featured Content, Popular
God’s Patience, the Human Heart, and the Art of Entering Another World One of the greatest misunderstandings about evangelization is that it’s primarily about delivery, about getting the message out quickly, clearly, and efficiently. The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe...
