Catie Cartisano, LCSW, LSUDC joined EVN|SQ and Balance House as a partner and Clinical Director five years ago. She received her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work along with Advanced Substance Use Disorder Treatment Training at the University of Utah. With ten years of experience, she spent most of her career in the public sector at non-profit facilities and federal and government agencies. She has extensive experience working with high acuity mental health patients, combat veterans, individuals suffering from chronic homelessness, and inmates at the Utah State Prison. This experience has prepared her to work with severe cases of PTSD, an array of personality disorders, trauma, substance use disorders, and the severely mentally ill. She has remained an active member of the community throughout her career serving on the Salt Lake City DOPL board for the past eight years as well as on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board.

Catie works through the lens of Attachment Theory and believes that people in recovery must first detach from addictive substances and behaviors in order to develop the capacity to build and sustain healthy relationships. She has implemented multiple evidence-based practices into the outpatient and residential settings and specializes in the following modalities: Acceptance Commitment Therapy, 12-Step Facilitation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment and Addiction, Recovery Management and Motivational Interviewing.  

As clients come in having struggled with extreme isolation due to COVID-19, attachment work is one of the ways that Catie and her team focus on helping them heal their relationships. By utilizing Emotion Focused Therapy with clients and their families, all parties are able to better understand their feelings and learn to process them in a healthy and safe way. The entire clinical team at Balance House is EMDR trained to ensure the best, evidence-based treatment of trauma and to support clients while working through their emotions.

Chief Executive Officer Robbie Bills notes that “talking Catie into coming over to Balance House is one of the greatest ‘sales jobs’ we’ve ever done.  Her vast knowledge of diagnostics along with her ability to not only build a solid team of Master’s level Therapists, but also to build the necessary therapeutic alliance with each of our clients is simply unmatched.  We would not be half of what we are without her.”

About Balance House

Balance House is a year-long continuum of care for young men ages 18-35 years old.  We are located in Salt Lake City, Utah at the base of the Wasatch Mountains.  Balance House offers four, distinct levels of care from residential treatment to independent, sober living.  Residents of the program are offered a chance to explore the outdoors, and beauty that Utah has to offer, as well as to participate in group and evidenced-based treatment modalities.  Our treatment program is different by design.  We offer a space in which young men can help make decisions about their treatment plans and goals as well as feel supported as they begin to realize what is important to them outside of the treatment setting.